


All the Time to Lose

by SoulSong



Category: Worm - Fandom, Worm verse, Wormverse
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Fluff, F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Several OC characters making Team Arc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2019-09-06 07:56:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 20
Words: 34,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16828381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SoulSong/pseuds/SoulSong
Summary: An ex-soldier clutching at straws after losing everything. One amnesiac girl with far too much power at her disposal. Three teenagers with superpowers making a living as vigilantes. One doomed city to test their limits…and push past them.This is a Wormverse Fanfiction. If you have not read the Worm web serial, I highly recommend it. Wildblow is one of the best writers I’ve seen and it’ll give you more details on the setting, characters, and general storyline. All rights to the setting and it’s characters goes to Wildblow.I don’t own the world or it’s characters. I own Anubis and Aeon. My friend owns Team Arc (Castle, Vigilant, and Fulgur). As with my other stories, this can also be found on Wattpad: All the Time to Lose (Wormverse). My friend writes an almost after action report from Castle’s P.O.V. on Wattpad called Walls and Bridges.





	1. Chapter 1: Paternal Instincts

There's an old saying. 'You never know what you have, until it's gone.' It's supposed to remind you to appreciate what you have because most people don't recognize the value of what they have until they no longer have it.

A good lesson to teach people, but no one ever talks about how it feels to one day get that thing back. The phrase itself implies that you don't get it back. There's a finality to it that leaves no room for ideas, no room for plans, and no room for hope.

However, they say time apart only makes the love for someone, or something, that much stronger. So, time away increases your love and appreciation...but your hope for reunion dwindles the longer the separation lasts.

Where is that magic, in between amount of time, where your love and appreciation has had time to grow and strengthen, but your hope of reunion is still strong enough to hold onto? I'm not sure such a number exists.

After all, every person and relationship has their own, incalculable levels of consistency, trust, loyalty, and love. These are among the essential components to how people determine their hopes of reunion.

There are stories in which authors explore how long one can wait for that coveted reunion. One example is in Homer's Odyssey. Odysseus's wife Penelope waited patiently for 20 years for Odysseus to return, but Odysseus's mother, Anticlea, killed herself part of the way through his absence because she couldn't handle the grief.

Sixteen years. Sixteen long, sickening, arduous, painful, depressing years. There are over a dozen words I could use to describe those years...all of them are negative. It doesn't matter that I'm one of the most successful hitmen of the century.

It doesn't matter that I can hold my own against some of the most powerful capes on Earth. It doesn't matter that I'm, miraculously, not rotting in jail for my crimes. It doesn't matter that I was the only cape to survive that Endbringer attack. It doesn't matter that I'm in perfect health.

Hell. It doesn't even matter that I'm alive. None of it matters. Not without knowing. Not without answers. Not without her. I've already outlasted Anticlea but...I don't know if I have the same strength as Penelope. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up.

I've lost everyone. By now, most of my friends that could help are either dead, in jail, or trapped in the Birdcage. I'm not sure if there's anything else I can do at this point. I've tried everything that comes to mind. I have lost that false hope that I wouldn't be alone.

I won't stop though. I can't. I don't care how long it's been nor how young she was. I certainly don't care how long it will take. I need answers. I find myself here whenever I think about these things...about her. Not necessarily here, but this kind of place.

I could try to say that it's a quiet, reputable, and sophisticated establishment...but that would be a big fat lie. It's a bar. I could be in a less reputable bar, one that serves criminals, but that's the beauty of wearing a mask and using a codename. Nobody knows me outside of my uniform.

Well...that's not entirely true, but the few people that do can't or won't do anything about it. It's not a healthy habit by any means, but it's the only one that works. Every time, I tell the bartender ahead of time to cut me off after I've had a certain number so I don't go overboard.

They never let me down. I'm already a few drinks and several hours into the night. The bartender tonight is an elderly woman, in her 60s probably, and the owner of the bar. With white hair, pale, wrinkled skin, and big brown eyes.

The bartender in training is a young woman with porcelain skin, long, dark brown hair, and innocent, light blue doe eyes. She looks to be early 20s. I've come to this bar several times before, so I know the girl is new. The old woman is named Mary, and the young girl is Melissa.

As I raise my hand for another round, Mary gives me a sad smile as she puts my drink down "Still no luck I take it?" I shake my head, not looking up from the counter. She sighs, and I can hear her move to talk to Melissa at the other end where she's is cleaning the used glasses.

I could listen in if I wanted to. It's a pretty quiet night here and I've trained myself to pick up on these things, but I ignore them. I can't help but smile sadly to myself, as I wonder what she'd look like now. Maybe like Melissa.

Give her darker skin and copper hair...that's probably pretty close actually. My little girl. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I couldn't be there for you in some of the hardest years of your life. I've failed you. I promise I'll make it up to you. I just hope I get the chance.

I snap out of my daze to a vibration emanating from my jacket. I reach into the interior pocket and check my phone, hiding the screen from view. I've got a call from an unknown number. Not all that surprising considering my line of work.

I tap the counter with my knuckles and hold up a $20 for Mary to see. I place it down, collect my things, and go outside. I answer as soon as I'm clear of the door, keeping my voice flat and emotionless.

"Yes?" "Anubis?" The man sounds less like he's stating a fact rather than asking a question. "Speaking." "My boss would like to meet with you. A location has been sent to your phone." I check my phone and, sure enough, there's a location, both an address and coordinates.

I check where it is and see that it's Brockton Bay, Massachusetts. I put the phone back up to my ear "And?" "Be at that exact location on Friday at 7PM." I like knowing who I'm dealing with, and Brockton Bay has all manner of heroes and villains, though my gut says his boss is a villain.

"Who am I meeting?" "One of us. We will take you to meet with the boss." I resist the urge to sigh or growl. "Don't keep me waiting." I warn him before hanging up. His boss is being too careful, too precise, to not be a cape.

They probably have a Master or Thinker power actually. I go home and research Brockton Bay capes and the city itself. I make sure I get there using the most common forms of public transportation to mask my entrance into the city.

It might be nothing...but something tells me that I need to keep my guard up. I arrive Wednesday morning and spend the entire day getting to know the city. I make notes of where gang territories begin and end, any major capes that I see, and any potential threats.

On Thursday morning, I pass what appears to be an animal shelter. On a whim, I go inside. I can't help but lament when I see that none are the breeds I need. My last dog, Diablo, was a big, guard dog and an ex-fighting dog.

I like the challenge of training difficult dogs, especially ones capable of keeping up with me on jobs. I sigh as I go to the front desk "Excuse me?" The lady behind the counter can't be older than 30.

Her long hair is dyed a platinum blonde that makes her pale skin look a little washed out despite the gaudy makeup she's coated herself in. "Yes sir?" Her voice sounds so fake in its high-pitched, forced pleasantness.

Dear god I need to get away from this woman before I say something horrible to her. "I was wondering if you're struggling to get any of these dogs adopted." She checks their records but one of the volunteers comes out from the back, a boy in his late 20s, and answers for her.

"Sorry, you missed them. Rachel picked those up this morning." "Rachel?" "Yeah. She loves dogs so she comes by and takes the unadoptable dogs so they don't get euthanized." I can't help but be impressed by this girl, and I don't even know her.

"Do you know if I could check them out?" The boy, David according to his name tag, looks startled and shrugs. "I can call her and find out." "Could you? I would really appreciate it. I'm sure she's got her hands full." David nods and goes into the back to call Rachel.

I start roughhousing with a few of the dogs while I wait for him to finish the call. Rachel Huh? I wonder if it's the same one I read about. That might be cool. If what I've read are true, then this meeting should prove to be very interesting.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	2. Chapter 2: Canis lupus familiaris

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anubis finally arrives in Brockton Bay. With time on his hands, he makes some friends.

We're hanging out in the loft, watching a movie and enjoying our latest victory. I'm sitting between Lisa and Brian on one couch, Alec is using a chair, and Rachel is on the other couch with her dogs. Suddenly, Rachel's phone starts ringing. Her phone never rings.

Brows furrowed, Rachel answers her phone, not bothering to leave the room. "Yeah?" We can't hear what's on the other end, but judging by Rachel's reactions...it's weird. "You sure?" She listens to the answer and considers it for a bit. She stands.

"I'll meet him first. Keep him there." She hangs up and signals her dogs to get up. Brian is the first to speak "Something wrong?" She hesitates but looks at us "Someone wants to adopt one of the dogs in my shelter." I've been helping her out so I know how much work they are.

Lisa and I join her. Never hurts to ring backup. Rachel doesn't comment. We don't know who this guy is and Rachel might have to take him to her shelter. Lisa should be able to tell if he's safe to bring there or not. Rachel leads us to the city shelter and we enter.

A tall, athletic boy with sandy hair points us to the back. "He's back there." We head into the back. Judas, Brutus, and Angelica are smelling around and enjoying themselves. With a quick command though, they fall into place around Rachel. It doesn't take long to find him.

The man in the play area has (s/c) skin and short, copper hair. He's wrestling on the floor with a large white bulldog. He manages to wrench the toy out of the dog's mouth, roll away, and stand. At his full height, I'd estimate he's somewhere around 6'2"-6'4".

He does a little jump in place, in which he widens his stance to the kind of pose football players take when lining up before hiking the ball. We watch him play with the dog, training the dog to drop the toy when bringing it back. Rachel yells "Hey! You the one looking to adopt?"

He look at us and smiles, his green eyes almost seem to flash in the light as he does. He tosses the toy for the dog before leaving the play area, making sure it's closed behind him so the bulldog doesn't get out. He nods "I am. Are you Rachel?" She nods and he smiles, extending a hand.

"I'm Gideon." Lisa takes his hand. "I'm Lisa and this is Taylor. Rachel doesn't really shake hands." He nods "Nice to meet you all." There's a sadness to his eyes as he looks at us. I wonder why. He turns to Rachel as she speaks "What kind of dog?" He thinks on it for a moment before answering.

"Not sure yet. I know I need a guard or working dog. Nothing else would be able to keep up with me physically or mentally." It doesn't look like Rachel believes him. He looks down at Rachel's dogs and then at her, motioning to Brutus. "He's a handsome one. You train him?"

She nods and he smiles "He kinda reminds me of my first dog, Tex. She was a Boucheron, Bernese Mountain Dog mix." Rachel crosses her arms, judgment written all over her face "What happened to Tex?" He sighs, his eyes shutting like it's a painful memory to relive.

"Bomb, 1994. She was in the military with me. Saved my entire squad. Got her own funeral service for it." He smiles sadly "Tex was my first dog. Trained her myself." I can't help but ask "What branch?" He chuckles bitterly "Army." I nod. It's a standard question that almost everyone asks.

Rachel looks at him. "Is Tex the only dog you've ever owned?" He shakes his head. "No. I got Bellona the Siberian Husky, Pitbull mix in '97. She was missing a leg and she died in '03." She nods, opening her mouth to speak, only for him to continue.

"Then I got Diablo in 2005. He was a Doberman, Rhodesian Ridgeback mix. Ex-fighting dog actually. His heart was weak from all those fights so it gave out on him about a year ago." I don't know much about dogs, but just from this list...I'd say this guy knows what he's doing.

Rachel nods and whistles for her dogs to follow as she starts to head for the door "I'll show you the dogs." We walk down the road together towards Rachel's shelter. It's silent for a bit as we walk. Just when I decide that I can't handle the silence, but Lisa beats me to it.

"So, how long have you been in Brockton Bay?" He gives her a questioning look "I got in yesterday. Why?" Rachel's voice is flat, almost like it's a chore. "You need a place to keep the dog." He chuckles "They allow dogs where I'm staying. I would just get a dog without having a place."

We arrive at the shelter and it is clear that he is almost as much a dog person as Rachel. He gets along with these dogs just as well as he did with the big bulldog from the shelter. While he plays with the dogs, Rachel watches him suspiciously while Lisa leans against the wall nearby.

After Rachel watches Gideon for a bit, she seems to understand that he's good with dogs, but unwilling to let him take one. So, Lisa and I step in to try to convince her that she can't take care of all of them on her own. Granted, she's doing a better job with over a dozen dogs than most shelters, but still.

They all deserve to have someone who can take care of them properly. We eventually get her to agree to let him adopt the Karelian Bear Dog mix. He even gives Rachel $50 as she gives him a spare leash and collar. He smiles as he plays with the puppy who is far from done growing.

He looks over at Rachel, his voice soft but confident. "Thank you Rachel. You're doing a great job here. I wish I could do more to help." He looks at us over his shoulder. "It was nice meeting you all." With that, he turns and leaves the shelter with the dog who is looking happy as can be.

We head back to the loft and tell Alec and Brain what happened. We hang out in a comfortable silence, watching whatever came on tv until dinner. We all voted on what to eat, deciding on Mexican, and then Brian and I take his car to pick up the food.

About 20 minutes later we are walking back into the loft and Brian is tossing burritos at each member. We put on the evening news in case anything's changed and relax with our food. About halfway through our meal, Alec looks at Rachel. "I'm kinda amazed you let someone adopt one."

Lisa chuckles "It wasn't easy to get her to agree." Rachel looks away. I speak up. "He looked like he knew what he was doing." She gives me the slightest nod. "He does. But something was off about him." I have no idea what she's talking about, and I'm pretty good at reading people.

Lisa is nodding though "There is." Rachel tenses. Lisa immediately clarifies "It's nothing bad for the dog." She relaxes a bit but Brian tenses "Does that mean its bad for us." She chews on her inner cheek nervously. Alec speaks hesitantly "Lisa, what's going on? What's up with the guy?"

She sighs "I don't know." "Huh?" Not the most intelligent answer, but it gets my point across. She avoids eye contact and mumbles something. Brian sighs "Lisa please." She pouts but concedes "He's a cape." This makes all of our muscles contract and freeze simultaneously.

Everyone is holding their breaths for a moment before Brian clears his throat. "Really?" Lisa nods and I speak up "What's his power?" Lisa shakes her head. "My power won't tell me." My forehead scrunches in confusion as Alec asks the question on my mind.

"Then how do you know he's a cape?" I'm kinda scared to hear her answer. "Firstly, the name he gave us was completely fake. Plus, my power just, stopped talking to me after awhile." I say. Rachel states "He recognized me." Our heads snap to look at our quietest member.

She continues "He asked if the transformation hurts the dogs and if Chopper [Buck] had ever been transformed." Silence ensues and Brian looks at Lisa "You said your power told you nothing?" She nods slowly, picking out each word she wants to use just before it leaves her mouth.

"The only reason that might happen is in the presence of other Thinker or Trump powers." Brian thinks on this for a bit "Think we should call the boss? Let him know there might be a new cape in town?" Lisa shrugs "We can." "But if you're right, that could really screw with things." Alec adds.

"Whatever happens...whatever is true...we need to be careful. If there is a Thinker or Trump cape in town, there's no telling what he could do, who he could screw, or who he could hurt. Call the boss. He'll want to know about this."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	3. Chapter 3: A Jackass in a Limo

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the meeting. Is he threatening me?

After parting with the Undersiders, I stop by a pet store and buy food, a tough collar and leash for walking my new dog, along with a name plate that just says his new name "Buck". I return to the hotel, using the walk to train Buck in basic commands. He's a good learner.

When we arrive, I give him food and spend the rest of the day and most of the next to train him. Eventually, it comes time to go to work, so I change into my uniform. Cargo pants, a t-shirt, a Kevlar vest, and combat boots. I slide on two shoulder holsters for my guns.

I slide on a visor with built in heat, night, and x-ray vision settings. It even has a Geiger counter, motion sensors, and GPS on top of functioning as regular sunglasses. Tinker tech. Gotta love it. This particular visor was made for Black Ops squads by a Tinker contracted to the government years ago.

I cover my torso with a jacket to hide the Kevlar and guns. I then cover the lower half of my face with a bandana. On my belt and in my pockets I carry a combat knife, a small first aid kit, extra ammunition, smoke bombs, and other small useful devices.

I make my way downstairs, slipping past the front desk with Buck hot on my heels. He is such a fast learner. He might have some Border Collie in him. We get outside without being noticed. I reward Buck with a treat and focus on training him more as we head to the rendezvous point.

I'm mostly working on his patience and obedience this time. I'm establishing signals for basic things, like sitting when I sit and waiting until I say so to stand. A car pulls up while I'm working with him. It looks like a bulletproof limousine. I frown at it as it stops in front of me.

A door opens and a man wearing similar clothes to mine, steps out. His bulletproof vest is on top of his jacket and he's got a mask covering the lower half of his face, but his outfit resembles mine in all other aspects. He examines me "Anubis?" I straighten up, keeping a tight grip on Buck's collar.

I nod slowly and he motions to the backseat. I get in, looking away from him only when absolutely necessary. As soon as I'm seated and Buck is lying next to me, I spot a figure sitting across from me. He's wearing a skintight black bodysuit with a stencil of a white snake curling around it.

The head of the snake is on his forehead. I can't help but arch an eyebrow at him. This man exudes the aura of someone who enjoys being in control. No. Who needs to be in control. I hate and pity those people. They live every day trying to control something that they can only influence, not control.

Just the way he's dressed tells me he's probably a cape. It might not be public knowledge, but this man definitely has powerful enemies. Enemies he cannot afford to know anything as to what he looks like. I can't see it, but I'm certain he's giving me one of those fake, corporate business smiles.

"The elusive Anubis. We meet at last." No way in hell am I working with this guy. His voice is just like that of a successful lawyer or politician. It exudes professionalism, cunning, and far too good to be true. But, seeing as the limousine is in motion, I might as well hear him out.

"Well, you know who I am, now I think it's about time you return the same courtesy." He chuckles lightly, breathily. "Of course. You may call me Coil." The way his hand rests lightly on his chest as he says this, as though he were but a humble servant of the Queen of England, irritates me for some reason.

I keep my face in check though as I nod stiffly. I hate coming to the client just to hear about a job. It's normally done over the phone so I don't spend as much on travel expenses. "So, Coil, why did you call me all the way here?" He holds up a hand, as though to have me hold off on speaking.

"Please, relax Anubis. I promise that, if you don't take me up on my offer, I will fully reimburse you for the trip here and back. This was too sensitive to discuss on the phone." Now that was just scary. I have never told anyone my reasoning for taking jobs over the phone.

Maybe...he's got a Thinker power. Can't have that. I stare at him in total silence. Before I can open my mouth to ask him how he knows that, Coil speaks. There is a flourish to his voice and words, like reciting poetry. "You see, Anubis, I am but steps away from controlling Brockton Bay's underworld."

He pauses, as if to let me register his statement. "I have some capes working for me but I'd prefer to have more. My non-powered employees are hired mercenaries. That is where you come in Anubis." I'm not sure I like where this is going. He's saying he has an army. Why me?

"You are perhaps the only cape who also has military training. In short, I want you to bridge my two groups. I'd put you in charge of a group of mercenaries and you would coordinate with my capes to complete tasks I give you." I tilt my head a bit, as though I were thinking.

"What kind of tasks?" He lounges slightly, looking a bit more relaxed, even his muscles, which are visible through his suit, seem to relax "For now? Eliminating my competition. Including, but not limited to-." I venture my guesses, interrupting Coil in the process.

"Empire Eighty-Eight? The Merchants? The ABB?" I can see his muscles tense, and I don't miss that they don't fully relax when he chuckles "You truly are one of a kind Anubis. I'm impressed." I scoff "I did my research, as any merc should do before they agree to a contract."

I see movement in my peripheral. I turn my head slightly to see a mercenary shifting uncomfortably. I do a quick sweep and see that there is only one other mercenary in here with us. They aren't threatening me. In fact, their guns are holstered.

They are sitting on either side of Coil near the doors, likely there for his protection rather than to threaten or detain me. I guess that guy didn't do his research. "Now I'm curious. What else did you find out about me?" I huff "Now where would be the fun in telling you that?"

The way his neck muscles tense tells me he didn't like that answer. I grin ever so slightly under the bandana. "Tell you what Coil, as of now, I'm liking the idea of that reimbursement you promised." Coil tenses. I guess he either wasn't expecting that, or maybe he just doesn't like my answer.

"But," Coil perked up, like a child after being told they could try again. "if you can somehow convince me that this is 1, worth my time, and 2, something I'd want in on, then I'll tell you exactly what I found out and where I learned it." I drop my voice a bit, "Do we have a deal?"

You could cut the tension with a knife as silence fills the backseat of the limousine. Coil chuckles dryly "I like you Anubis. It's been a long time since someone's pulled a move like that on me. I accept." I nod. Coil is exuding an aura of confidence.

"You know, the best way to persuade someone, is to use what you know about them. So, before I begin, let's talk about what I know about you, Anubis." I tense and Buck growls. One of the mercs jumps slightly. Apparently, he forgot the dog was here.

Coil persists "Don't worry, I don't know who you really are or anything that personal." I don't believe him. "For example, I know you've had powers for close to 30 years, but no one could identify it until recently." An overestimate. I got my powers about 25 years ago.

I stay quiet, letting him speak his piece. "You're a teleporter, and a damn good one at that. But! You've never gone from inside a city, to outside the city by teleporting. Is that your limit?" Again, I don't answer. "I suppose we can discuss that later." Coil muses, seeming to not be fazed by my silence.

"Another thing to know about you is that you like to use dogs to track targets and alert you of incoming threats. I respect that. It admits to weaknesses and makes up for them." I nod slightly. "I also know that you're looking for something." I tense and Buck's neck hairs raise up.

Coil continues "It's why you don't care about the location, and why you get your dogs Search and Rescue certified. Am I right?" My left fist clenches as my right hand freezes in place on Bucks back where I was petting him. Sensing my stress, Buck growls at Coil.

He is such a good dog. I pet him a bit and exhale a long, slow breath through my nose. I can still feel Buck's tension and the vibrations from his low, barely audible growling, but it's better. Coil holds up his hands. I suppose it's an attempt to show he's not a threat but we're already past that.

"Please understand Anubis, I only say this because, in addition to the payment we agree on, I'd be willing to lend you my resources and help you find what you're looking for." Now that is a tempting offer. How long have I been looking? How long has it just been me and my dog?

The answer? Too long. But...I can't stop now. I need answers. Help would be nice. Not from him though. I don't trust him. And I'll be damned if I let this guy know how broken I truly am.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	4. Chapter 4: Alone No More?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of the talk with Coil. After talking with Coil, Anubis gets approached by another prominent cape in the area…with another proposition.

Coil takes my silence as an invitation to continue "Rest assured, I won't be sharing anything that I know about you at any time, whether you accept my offer or not." I don't believe him. I don't know why...I just don't.

"I do my research. I don't do business with people with mystery agendas. I like knowing the big picture. By tracking any and all incidents where you, or your mercenaries, or even someone who resembles you or them is spotted, I can see what you're up to."

His right pointer finger twitches slightly. "It's pretty obvious just by looking over your activities that you plan to eliminate your competition." He relaxes slightly when he hears that I don't know his full plan, just a general goal. Regardless, I think it's high time Coil learned the truth.

"I want you to understand something Coil. This meeting? Nothing more than ear service." I'm sure if I could see his face, he'd be giving me his best 'WTF bro?' look. He sighs "Are you sure Anubis?" I nod. "Unfortunately for you Coil, you talk like a politician. There's no transparency."

I can see his neck muscles contract, his head tips up, his lower jaw drops ever so slightly, and he leans forward in his seat, indicating that he wants to speak. But I'm not finished yet. So, I hold up a hand, a silent request for him to hold off until I'm done.

"Please, Coil. I'm almost done." He nods and leans back "The fact of the matter is that I can't trust you. You offer to help me but my problems are very personal and I can't bring myself to trust you." Coil sighs deeply "I...understand your position."

His finger taps rhythmically on his leg for a pregnant moment "Is...is there any way I could change your mind?" I tip my head at him "You are dead set on getting me on your payroll...why?" It must be his agenda.

He sighs "Unfortunately, to reveal your role in my plan, I must reveal my plan to you. I only want to do that when I know you will work for me." I shake my head. Typical. "Then I'm afraid we have nothing more to discuss. Stop the car." Coil sighs but acquiesces, signaling the driver to stop the car.

The car stops and one of the mercenaries opens the door for me. I spare Coil one last look before I say, without looking away from the snakehead on his mask "Down." The dog dutifully obeys, jumping down from the seat "Down." I repeat, pointing the street.

Again, Buck obeys, jumping down to the street. I immediately follow up with one last command "Stay!" He does, sitting down facing me in the car. I give Coil one last look before finally tearing my eyes away from the man to leave. I watch as the limousine pulls away.

I give Buck some treats and pets, telling him how good he was before we start walking back. I keep him on the leash for now so I can train him the commands for walking beside, behind, or in front of me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Coil's P.O.V.~

I can't believe it. I wasn't able to convince him to work for me. I know from reports what would have happen if I sent a representative instead....it wouldn't go well. Anubis is careful, and perhaps a bit paranoid. He meets with the top dog or no one at all. That's why I met with him myself.

Even with all of my information though, I still couldn't get him to agree to work for me. I don't get it. I can't seem to remember how the other try went. That's never happened before. I always get two tries. But then...why? My phone rings. I pull it out. Tattletale.

The Undersiders should still be recovering from Bakuda the other day. I answer "Tattletale." "Coil, I want to tell you about something." "Oh?" She rarely called to tell me something. Normally she has a question. "We ran into someone earlier today....I think he's a Thinker or Trump cape."

Now I'm intrigued "Are you sure? How did you meet him?" "He was a guy that adopted one of Bitch's dogs. My powers weren't talking to me while we were with him." Holy fucking shit that sneaky little bastard! I can't help but chuckle slightly at the very thought.

That's why I couldn't create a new reality to test how he'd react to what I say when he got in the limo. My chuckling is making Tattletale wary "You know him?" "Indeed I do. I actually just met with him." "Really?!" "Yes. Such a well-behaved dog too." "So...is he an ally?"

I sigh "Sadly no. He's a rogue and seems content to be so. He shouldn't be a problem." "Oh?" "Yes. He goes by the name Anubis. Do take care when you're out and about." "Understood. Thanks for the warning." "Of course."

I hang up and hurl the phone into the seat where Anubis was sitting not an hour before. I'm seething. A Thinker or Trump cape could easily mess with my powers. I'll have to be very wary of him.

~Tattletale's P.O.V.~

I hang up the phone and turn to face my friends, they're all staring at me and I'm sure I look like I've seen a ghost. "What is it?" "What did he say?" "Is that guy an enemy?" I don't bother keeping track of who asks what and just focus on answering the questions.

"He said the man goes by the name Anubis. He's a rogue." "Things just keep getting better." Grue says, groaning sarcastically. Skitter stays silent, likely deep in thought. Regent groans/whines about how annoying Anubis could be. Bitch is silent though, just petting her dogs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~Faultline’s P.O.V.~

I am just finishing sliding on my bulletproof vest when I hear the knock at the door. "Come in." I call out as I grab my welding mask and slide my guns into their holsters. I hear the door open and close behind me. "You called for me?" asks the familiar, somewhat accented voice.

I nod as I turn to face him. "I did. There's a new cape in town. I intend to try to recruit him. I want you to come with me." He seems startled. "If you don't mind me asking...why me?" I give him a smile.

"Newter needs to stay here with Elle and Emily is a bit too offensive-oriented for a recruitment meeting. You are a loyal member and are less likely to scare him away than the others." He nods and I slide on my mask as I lead the way out of the room and towards a back exit of Palanquin.

After we leave the club, he speaks up. "Faultline?" I glance back at him. He is walking a step behind me. "Yes Gregor?" He hesitates, but continues "Who are you trying to recruit?" I smile behind my mask. Gregor is by no means stupid and I never fail to notice when he asks the right questions.

"He came into town earlier this week. I spotted him the other day. I only caught a glimpse of him, but I believe it is Anubis." "Anubis?" Gregor asks. I can hear the curiosity in his voice. "Yes. He's a mercenary. If parahumans online is anything to believe, he's a teleporter."

"So..why him?" Why do I want him? I've got a good feeling about him but...why? I'm not sure I can give Gregor the exact answer, but I come up with something to suffice. "He's a mercenary. At the very least, he will be a good addition to the team." Gregor doesn't press me for anything more.

I describe what Anubis was wearing and we split up, keeping in contact with our phones. After almost an hour of looking, I get a text from Gregor. It's just two street names. I go there, getting two more texts on my way there telling me other street names nearby.

I update my route with every text I get. When I finally arrive, I find that Gregor has indeed found Anubis. Or at least, he's found the man I saw the other day. I really hope it's Anubis. Gregor falls into step behind me as I step onto the empty street by the Docks.

The man whirls around, drawing a gun as he does. I can't tell what it is from here, but it looks like it could be an SMG of some variety. I hold up my hands to show I am unarmed. "Calm yourself sir. We did not come here to fight." He lowers his gun but keeps his finger near the trigger.

Only then do I notice that he is not alone either. There's a dog behind him, growling and snarling at us. The man calls out, suspicion obvious in his voice "Who are you?" I smile behind the mask "I am Faultline, and this is Gregor. Gregor is a member of my mercenary crew."

I let this sink in and watch as he says something to the dog. The dog stops growling, but its hair is still up. I press him "Am I correct to assume you are Anubis?" His head snaps to look at me and I see the gloved hand holding his gun tenses. He shifts the weight on his feet, eyeing me carefully.

"You'd be correct. Let me guess, you want me to work for you too?" I was not expecting that "Too? Has someone already approached you?" He sounds so annoyed. We are maybe 15 feet from each other, but he slides his gun into a holster under his jacket.

I see a flash of a few other holsters and a bulletproof vest under the jacket as well. He nods "Yeah. Coil." I nod "Ah. Coil would want someone like you. I must admit I'm a bit surprised you didn't join him." "Who says I didn't?" "You wouldn't have sounded so annoyed if you had."

He nods. "Fair enough. So, what do you want?" "My crew does anything short of murder and we never do any job without pay. I am currently using a good portion of our funds to try to help the Case 53s like Gregor find answers and to help Labyrinth be more lucid while having stronger abilities."

I pause to glance at him "But I think the more important question is, what do you want Anubis?" He goes quiet and I wait patiently for his answer. He looks at us, then strides over to us. His dog has calmed down now. When he reaches us, his dog starts smelling us.

He looks at Gregor "What do you want?" Neither of us were expecting that, but Gregor takes it in stride. "I don't know how I got to be like this, nor what this symbol means." Gregor points at the Omega-like symbol on his arm, before looking back at Anubis.

"I want to though. I want to know what my name is and how this happened. Faultline's been helping me do that." I knew I brought him along for a reason. Turns out, it's a damn good one.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	5. Chapter 5: A New Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anubis has a decision to make and people to meet. Will he be a good fit in this new family? Or will Anubis get more than he bargained for?

~Anubis's P.O.V.~

I am so busy thinking back over my conversation with Coil, that I don't even notice the figure following me. At least...not until Buck starts growling at them. I turn to see a figure in the shadows of a nearby alley. Now that I've turned around, they step out onto the empty street.

There are two of them. One is wearing a welding mask over their face, a bulletproof vest, boots, a battle skirt, and has black hair. The other individual, has no hair whatsoever, not even eyelashes. His skin is pale and somewhat translucent, giving me a view of his skeleton.

His skin is dotted with circles with swirls on them, none larger than a silver dollar, almost like acne. The person in armor introduces themselves as Faultline, a woman, and that the almost morbidly obese man next to her is called Gregor.

She tells me of her mercenary crew and how she helps them to achieve their goals. She pauses before turning the conversation back to me "But I think the more important question is, what do you want Anubis?"

I stay quiet, considering my answer carefully. I look at them, then stride over to them. When I reach them, Buck starts smelling them, having calmed down now that I have relaxed a bit. I look at Gregor "What do you want?"

He answers "I don't know how I got to be like this, nor what this symbol means." Gregor points at the Omega-like symbol on his arm, before looking back at me. "I want to though. I want to know what my name is and how this happened. Faultline's been helping me do that."

I must admit, she's surprised me. Rumor has it Faultline's Crew won a fight against Chevalier and Myrddin not long ago. Tough opponents. There is no fear in Gregor's voice. No hesitation or anxiety either.

It would stand to reason that Gregor genuinely likes his boss and holds no animosity or fear towards her. The sign of a good leader. I nod. Would I really be willing to open up to her though? Maybe. They are a very mobile group.

I look down at Buck. His tail is wagging and I can tell that he wants to jump up on Faultline and lick off her mask. Rachel must have trained him a bit before I adopted him. He's taken to commands much faster than most dogs would.

So, I ask about some of the jobs they have done. As she and Gregor run through a list of them, I watch them carefully. There are a few times in which Faultline gets a detail wrong, which Gregor points out.

Instead of hushing him or getting upset, she simply, politely, thanks him for the correction. 'So she has humility? A good sign in a leader.' I think. A few times Gregor tells the full story and Faultline stays completely silent.

They are not quite friends, but they are clearly much closer than a boss-employee relationship. I really don't care what jobs they've done. I've read about most of them already. I just wanted to see how they describe the jobs.

If anything, both of them are underselling how well they performed in fights. Yes. I think I can work with them. I nod to myself and open my eyes behind my visor to look at them. They're both shorter than me by several inches, so I have to tilt my head down a bit to look at them.

I look at Faultline and hold out my right hand to her. "I'm in." I can't see any of her skin nor her face, but I could've sworn she looked happy as she shakes my hand. "Welcome to the crew Anubis."

On the way to their base of operations, Faultline explains that the team is a bit like a family, and there are no masks while in their rooms. I am free to take my time before revealing my face and name to them if I want to. We detour so I can grab my stuff and check out of the motel.

I meet them out back and they lead me to a club. We enter through a back door guarded by a large man. He eyes me suspiciously but Faultline waves it off. "New recruit. We'll introduce him later." The man nods, holding the door open for us as we enter.

Faultline leads us up to the second floor to a corridor. I can hear muffled sounds of the club further down the hallway, but I could still sleep through it. I am shown to a room where I can drop off my stuff. I feed Buck while Faultline and Gregor go to collect everyone else.

I have to steel myself for this. It's been so long since I've been part of a team. I hear a knock at the door and a woman's voice calls "Anubis, can we come in?" I take a long, slow, deep breath before I stand.

"Yeah." I call out as I pull back the hood of my jacket and pull down the bandana so it rests around my neck. I turn to see a large group out in the hall. Buck yips happily and trots over, smelling everyone and everything he can see. I step out into the hallway.

The first thing I notice, is that I am not only the tallest person here, but also the oldest. Gregor might be in his 30s, making him the closest in age. Then there's Faultline, who has ditched her mask to reveal a woman in her 20s with sharp features and long black hair.

There's a teenage girl with brown curly hair and lots of freckles. There's a teenage boy with red hair, neon orange skin, a 5' long tail, and a tattoo like Gregor's over his heart. There is also one girl who might be a pre-teen.

She has platinum blonde hair and a faraway look in her eyes. The freckled girl smiles, holding out her hand "I'm Emily, Spitfire on jobs." I shake her hand and the boy next to her grins "I'm Newter. I'd shake your hand but it'll just send ya ta la la land."

I nod, reaching up to carefully pull off the visor. It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust to not having them (a side effect of the tech). When my eyes have adjusted, I can see that Faultline looks a bit concerned. I chuckle, handing her the visor so she can look at it.

"Tinker tech. X-ray, thermal, binoculars, Geiger counter, etc. It takes a few good seconds for your eyes to adjust to them, and twice as many to adjust to not wearing them. Had 'em for years." She nods, clearly impressed. I look at the young girl.

I lean down so I'm looking straight into her eyes. She almost seems to be looking through me as I speak quietly so I don't frighten her "Hey there. I'm Anubis. What's your name?" She doesn't answer and the whole group sighs. I look at them, a bit confused by all of this.

"This is Elle, Labyrinth to the public. Her power lets her see alternate worlds. The stronger her power, the less lucid she is. This must be one of her worse days. Sorry." I hum, thinking for a moment. I look at Faultline.

"Do you mind if I try something?" She thinks over my question carefully so I clarify. "I do not intend to hurt her." She still looks unconvinced so I grin. "By now Coil has probably figured out that teleporting is not my only power."

Faultline considers this before her eyes go wide "What is it? Exactly I mean." I grin again and look at Labyrinth "A null Trump power." I glance around the group to see that only Faultline has pieced together why I have brought this up and what I intend to try.

Everyone else seems confused over something that I said. She nods. "Go ahead." I nod and stare at Elle. I can feel my power reach out for her. It's like a ghostly hand, reaching into her. I can almost see it, the ghost that enters her and surrounds a crystal-thing inside of her.

It forms a bubble, cutting off its tendrils from her. I wait and we see Elle's eyes come into focus. She registers me and stumbles back in shock at seeing me. Faultline is quick to put a calming hand on her shoulder.

"Elle. It's alright. How do you feel?" Elle thinks for a moment before looking at me "What did you do?" I give her a bitter smile, holding out my hand to her. She takes it. I give her hand a small shake and a gentle squeeze.

"I shut down your powers temporarily. So long as I can see you Elle, I can shut off your powers for however long you want." Her eyes widen in shock, as do the others. Newter looks at me "Can you do me?" I shake my head, making sure to keep Elle in my line of sight.

"I can only do one at a time. But, as long as I do it, Elle is a completely normal human being." Emily seems to think of something "So, no matter who they are, you can just, shut off their powers?" I nod "It's never worked on Endbringers sadly, but I've yet to find someone it didn't work on."

She glances at Newter and Gregor. I sigh. "Changers are a weird case though Emily." She almost looks hurt, but almost more for Newter and Gregor's sake than for herself. "If I can shut down Changers before they can really change, then they can't shift."

I scratch the back of my head, trying to remember what's happened in the past. "It takes awhile for them to revert once they've shifted. And that's assuming that they can revert. I can probably shut off Newter's hallucinogenic secretions though since that's not a Changer ability...probably."

The looks I get from Faultline's Crew suggest that I am something they have only dreamed of. I smile at them. "I'm Anubis, but my real name is Jason Frost."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	6. Chapter 6: My Family is a Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anubis/Jason gets to know his new family, and vice versa.

It's been a few days since I joined Faultline's Crew. They're all very welcoming and curious to see what I can do. I'm hanging out with Newter on the top floor of the club where they've set up they're base. I've come to understand that the Palanquin is always full.

Newter has tried to get me to try his hallucinogenic fluids but I refuse to even consider it. I like to keep my wits about me at all times. So instead, Newter has made it his mission to figure out how old I am. So far, he keeps guessing high. It's kinda insulting.

Suddenly, there's a hand on my shoulder. On reflex, I reach up and grab their wrist, intent on flipping them so they land on their back in front of me. As soon as I grab it though, I know who it is. The somewhat gelatinous texture gives away immediately who it is. I relax, releasing his hand.

"Sorry. Reflex." I say looking up at Gregor. I get along with Gregor quite well. I appreciate his philosophical nature, his patience, and his loyalty to the group. He gives me a smile. "That's ok. Faultline wants to talk to you." I nod and finish off the remaining whiskey in my cup.

I set the cup down on the table to be picked up by the waitress later. I do not miss that the girls sitting with Newter are eyeing my arms. I'm wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up passed my elbows. Not a single girl Newter's had all night has missed that.

One girl pouts as I do "Will you come back?" She asks, a little too hopeful. She can't be older than Newter, who I estimate is probably close to 16. I roll my eyes "Look somewhere else. I'm too old for you." Again, she pouts, as if that would get her somewhere.

I stand and nod to Newter and Gregor as I go to the door leading to the back. The heavy door immediately muffles the sounds of the club considerably and I stride to the end of the hall, waving to Emily and Elle when I pass their room. Elle is much more lucid today and waves back.

We've discussed the possibility of there being a schedule for her, so she gets at least one fully lucid day a week with the aid of my power. We haven't put the plan into action yet, but Elle seems enthusiastic to try it. I'm just glad I can help her, she deserves to be herself.

I'm not concerned about talking to Faultline. We discussed earlier this week about sitting down to discuss any rules about me using my powers and what I want out of my membership once I settled in. I have no doubt that that will be the subject of our discussion.

I reach her office door and knock. I hear the sound of shuffling papers before my new boss calls out "Come in." I do so. I have yet to see Faultline's office, but it seems that she is somewhere between organized and messy.

On either side of her are stacks of papers, but the stacks are neat and seem to be organized somehow to create a sort of ordered chaos, not unlike her crew. Everything (and everyone), has its place and role to fulfill. She was standing though, looking out the window.

I let the door close and she looked at me, smiling slightly "Shall we get down to business?" I can't help but shift in place a bit, looking at the ground and literally swallowing my nerves so I can look at her "You might want to take a seat." She raises an eyebrow at me "Why?"

I move over to the chair facing her desk, placing my hands on the back and leaning on it for support. Something about me must have told her how hard this is for me because her voice gets softer, kinder. "What is it?" I let out a small sigh and look at her.

"Because I need to tell you something I have never told anyone in full before. It will take awhile, but it is necessary to understand my goal." She nods and takes a seat, getting comfortable and nodding to me, her silent signal to begin.

Now that it's about to happen, I'm not sure I can do this. No. I have to do this. For Raven and for Rochelle. I take a deep breath and begin ready to finally tell someone my story and why I am always moving.

"I first triggered while I was serving in the army, Special Ops. My dog, Tex, was our bomb detector. Me and my squad were infiltrating an enemy hideout when Tex alerted us to the location of several bombs."

I swallow as the memory floods my mind "They were live and counting down. We didn't have time to disarm the bombs, so we evacuated. At least, we tried. As the bombs went off, they took out the support beams."

It takes all of my willpower to continue as the memories flash before my eyes. "I triggered, gaining my teleportation powers. I teleported everyone out of there. My squad agreed to keep it quiet and among ourselves."

I pause, not only so Faultline can process this, but also so I can prepare myself to continue. "I was granted leave and I met the woman I later married, Raven Chevalier. She worked for the PRT, studying powers and creating a system for classifying powers."

My voice cracks as I continue "We married in '92 and in '93, Raven gave birth to our daughter, Rochelle. I was redeployed a few months later. Tex took a bomb for the squad in '94. I was granted a permanent leave from the army."

'Oh god here it comes.' I think as I remember what happened next. "Raven was called to a PRT conference in Moscow, Russia in '95 and I joined her, taking care of Rochelle while Raven was in meetings."

My entire body is shaking and tears are threatening to spill "I went to get food while Raven held onto Rochelle. Then, Behemoth attacked. I pulled on a bandana and teleported to them. Raven was dead, impaled on a piece of debris. Rochelle was alive, crying in Raven's arms."

I want to stop, but my voice continues, like it has to talk about it now "I picked up Rochelle and teleported her to the hospital, telling them that her mother is dead, her name, and her father's still out there."

I glance up to see that Faultline is listening, intent and patient. "I saved dozens of people that day, and got smacked aside by Behemoth. Fell into a coma with a concussion. Rochelle stayed in my room while I was out."

It takes me two minutes to compose myself enough to continue "I woke up three days later. Somehow, Rochelle, a 2-year-old, had vanished in the 10 minutes between when the nurse left and when I woke up."

I know I'm crying now. I don't care "I was on the third floor. No security footage showed her leaving the room." I look at Faultline "Someone took my daughter. I don't know why or how, but I can't die without answers."

I expect her to tell me that it's a fool's errand, that I'm crazy and that I need to move on. Instead, she nods slowly and leans forward "I've worked with less." I can't help it when my jaw drops at her words.

She gives me a soft smile "I can't guarantee results, but I can promise to help you." I sigh in relief as my shoulders slump. I let myself collapse into the chair and rest my head on the back of the chair.

We discuss for a bit on how she can help and I make her a list of my contacts, including a Tinker friend that maintains my visor and a hacker that helps me find information. Faultline is more than happy to accept the list.

I spend the rest of the day calling my contacts and letting them know who I am working for now and determining if they are willing to accept her calls or if I need to be the one to contact them. By the time we are done, I am exhausted.

The next day, Faultline pulls me aside before I head out for my daily run with Buck to tell me that the crew has been hired to help take out the ABB. I've heard of the Asian gang that recruited the explosive Tinker Bakuda.

Apparently, the villain groups are self-policing and one of them has hired Faultline's Crew to help out. Since I've only just joined, and I've spent my entire cape career as a rogue, she is giving me one chance to back out of this deal.

As much as I appreciate the gesture, I'm ready. I'm a soldier and this offers me my best chance to get to know the biggest collection of capes in Brockton Bay. I need to know who I can effect with my powers and who I need to avoid in battle.

There is no way I'm backing out now. I look her in the eye "I'll go. In fact, if I can get to Lung before anyone else and early on in the fight, I can end this fight then and there." She smiles, knowing exactly what I'm talking about.

As I head for the door, she calls out "Just one more thing." I look back at her and she flashes me an evil grin. "The one who's hired us for this job..." I raise an eyebrow at her, questioning why she's bothering with dramatics. "...it's Coil." I smirk. "This is gonna be fun."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	7. Chapter 7: Of Monsters and Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The villains of Brockton Bay meet to discuss dealing with the Azn Bad Boys (ABB).

I walk alongside my new teammates in my full gear. I have my guns and knife but the safety is on for both guns. I am walking between Labyrinth and Newter, making for an interesting picture. I am walking slower than normal so I stay between them instead of passing them.

A small part of me is worried about how Coil might react to seeing me here. I talked with Faultline extensively about what I am to do at the meeting. In a nutshell, I am to protect Labyrinth and teleport her out should things go south.

After experimenting at the base, we discovered that I can either take Gregor and Labyrinth, or any combination of the others with me when I teleport. It would seem that my carrying capacity while teleporting is limited to my own size.

I can't transport anything, or any combination of things, that exceeds my own size. If I try to exceed it, it will cut off excess amounts. It took extensive amounts of math to determine that I can carry any two members of the team, or Gregor and Labyrinth, without issues.

It helps that I stand at about 6" taller than Gregor who is closest to my size. Everyone else is almost a foot or more shorter than me. We arrive at a dingy pub with a dirty sign above it spelling Somer's Rock.

We step inside to find that we had arrived just after Coil since he was just sitting down. Kaiser and most of his heavy hitters are already here, along with the Undersiders, and a group of three that I don't recognize.

I'm gonna have to fix that. I don't like not knowing people. There's two guys and a girl. The guy sitting at the table is shorter than Kaiser and wearing dark colors and a gas mask. He's sitting across from the seat between Kaiser and Coil.

Most capes are seated at booths around the room, but Kaiser and Coil are sitting at the central table. All eyes turn on us as we enter and I can see Coil visibly tense when he spots me. Faultline makes a point of walking past the Undersiders on her way to a chair to Kaiser's right.

I see one of the Undersiders stand from their table. Taller than the rest of them and cloaked in darkness, I can only assume that one is Grue and leader of the Undersiders. He takes the seat between Faultline and Coil. Speaking of Coil, he has yet to tear his eyes away from me.

A group of three enters before I can comment on it. Apparently, these are the 'big guns' in The Merchants. I heard plenty about them from my patrols on the street and while walking Buck. They're addicts who make and sell drugs to everyone. Even children.

Despite losing my daughter 16 years ago, I still have the same protective instincts. These instincts have extended to cover my new team in the week I've been a member, especially over Emily and Elle. No. Spitfire and Labyrinth.

Thus, just seeing them has me seething. Kaiser and the others make it quite clear that The Merchants don't get a seat at the table, forcing their leader, Skidmark, to sit at a booth with his subordinates.

The meeting draws to a close with only a small challenge from Hookwolf and Kaiser directed at Bitch and Grue of the Undersiders. Coil asks for any other comments or concerns. The meeting is adjourned and The Merchants leave. Then the Undersiders. Then Kaiser and the Empire 88.

Coil and Faultline discuss prices while I get more information on the villains that attended the meeting tonight from Newter, Gregor, and Spitfire. I sit next to Labyrinth, making sure she's comfortable.

She seems to have taken to seeing me as a father figure over the past few days. I'm not surprised though. They are very much like a family. Labyrinth is the youngest, with Spitfire and Newter as her older siblings, and Gregor is like an uncle or much older sibling.

I cannot say that Faultline is a mother figure. Perhaps an aunt or adoptive mother...but not a true mother. She's not quite nurturing enough. It seems that I have filled a much needed parental role in the group.

Someone to chide Spitfire or Newter for being teenagers. Someone to help Faultline with work. Someone to provide conversation for Gregor. Someone to protect and care for Labyrinth. In all honesty, I feel like I've already adopted her.

I keep an eye on the door and Coil while also making sure the Labyrinth drinks something. She's better than when I first met her, but she's not as lucid as I've seen her one of her better days. Faultline comes to our table when she finishes and we all stand.

We leave money for the drinks and prepare to leave. Just as we start for the door though, Coil calls out "So, you'll work for Faultline but not me? I'm rather hurt Anubis." I can't help but chuckle at how childish he sounds.

I turn to look at him "I told you before Coil, transparency. She went the extra step that you didn't." With that, I turn and walk out the door, ready to get back to the Palanquin and feed Buck. Aside from Spitfire and Newter, the entire crew is silent on the entire walk back home.

A day later, Faultline knocks on our bedroom doors calling "Get in gear! The groups are splitting up and hitting hard!" I quickly toss Buck a chew toy and get dressed in my gear. I hear another knock on my door and I open it.

My hood is down, my bandana is around my neck, and my visor is on top of my head, and I'm just sliding on my jacket as I look down at Newter. Newter grins. He's dyed his hair cobalt blue today and tied cloth around his hands and feet.

I pull up my hood as I step out of my room, telling Buck to stay as I do. Faultline looks at each of us in turn. "There are three groups and every team is splitting up so they can't mess with anyone while their teammates are hostage."

We nod to show we follow the train of thought. "Gregor, Spitfire, you two will be in Hookwolf's group. Gregor, I want you to be ready to contain Spitfire's fire so it doesn't get out of hand." he nods and Emily grins, the mask of her suit isn't on but the rest of it is.

She looks at the rest of us "Newter, Labyrinth, Anubis, you'll be in Kaiser's group." I want to argue her logic in going alone and sending three in one group, but she catches me and beats me to it. "I need you to watch out for Newter and Labyrinth. Get them out if need be."

I sigh. I know she's right. She looks at Newter and Labyrinth. I use my power to make Labyrinth more lucid, if only to answer the question. "What's the code word to get out?" They answer in unison "Leviathan."

After much debate, we'd agreed to make our 'get us out of here now' code the mover of the Endbringers. I lift my powers from Labyrinth so she can settle back into her partially lucid state and prepare for the upcoming battle.

I teleport us outside and down a few streets to put some distance between us and the Palanquin before we decide to walk the rest of the way to our meeting spot. It was a tower that the ABB had pushed the Merchants out of.

Surprisingly, we arrive first. I take this time to observe our surroundings. I checked my watch. We're several minutes early. I look up at the tower to my back and at the surrounding buildings. I look at Newter and nod at Labyrinth.

"Keep an eye on her will you?" He nods "Where're you off to?" I point up at the tower "Scouting. Get a better idea of the area. I'll be back before we head to the target." He nods "I'll ya when everyone gets here."

I nod and I start by teleporting up to the roof of a nearby building before immediately teleporting to the top of the tower. It really is a great view. I pull out the waterproof paper I carry inside one of my belt pouches and add to the map of Brockton Bay that I've been making.

I teleport to the top of a few other buildings, and even inside a few of them to see if there were any enemies inside. I make sure to check a block in every direction, making sure that that circle is clear of any enemies.

I get a text from Newter that just reads 'Here.' I nod to myself and teleport back. It only takes me two jumps to get back to the top of the tower. I look down to see that we have 9 more villains to help us.

I can hear Kaiser huff about how late the Undersiders are and I smirk to myself as I teleport into the middle of the group. It makes nearly everyone flinch and I grin behind my bandana. Kaiser growls. "And who are you?"

I look around the group. Kaiser brought Fenja and Menja with him, the Travelers sent the girl with the sun icon, the Undersiders sent Bitch and Skitter, Coil sent 2 mercenaries, and that group of three sent the guy with green in his costume (not the one with the gas mask).

I turn to Kaiser "I'm Anubis. I just joined Faultline's Crew." Kaiser huffs "Any reason why you're so late?" I chuckle "We got here before any of you, so I decided to scout the area, make sure no one got ambushed."

"Really?" Skitter sounds unconvinced and I smile, knowing she can't see it. "Yes, and before I forget," I look at the entire group. "Let me handle Lung." "Excuse me?" Kaiser asks, sounding more than a little pissed.

I walk right up to him so my face is inches from his "If Lung shows up, let me get to him first. I can shut him down and he won't be a problem at all. But, my power becomes less and less effective the more he changes."

Kaiser huffs, unimpressed. I roll my eyes, only to remember that I'm wearing the visor so he can't see that either. Fuck. I sigh as I stare at him. I'll either have to demonstrate or explain. Kaiser is unlikely to listen unless he knows exactly what I mean by 'shut down'.

Kaiser stares at me, daring me to give him a reason. I really don't want to, but I'm gonna have to. So, for the sake of everyone, this cocky, arrogant bastard is gonna get exactly what he wants...for now. "I can make Lung nothing more than an short-tempered gangster."

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	8. Chapter 8: Demons Among Men

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight with the ABB begins. Explosions, cocky bastards, teamwork, and a smack down. All the makings of a delightful family outing.

Kaiser continues to stare at me, unmoving and without comment. I sigh/growl/huff as I turn away "Believe me or not, you'll just doom everyone if you don't. You consider yourself an intelligent and strategic individual, so act like one."

Kaiser growls out something along the lines of a 'fine' and calls out to set our watches to 4:40 in sync. We are to attack in 5 minutes. So, Bitch makes one of her dogs, I think the Rotty, grow even larger, spraying out blood and muscle as he does.

It makes most of the group flinch, save for myself, Skitter, Bitch, and Labyrinth. Bitch hops on and gives him a light kick, signalling him to move. I give Newter and Labyrinth a signal to follow as I follow behind Skitter and Bitch.

As we walk, I can hear Skitter talking to the girl from the Travelers. Apparently she's called Sundancer. I glance at the kid from that small group and I slow my pace so he catches up "So, what do they call you kid?"

He shrugs a bit "Vigilant. You?" "Anubis." His costume is very green, with a green coat, helmet, gloves, scarf/bandana, and pants. His boots and kneepads are dark, and he's wearing a bulletproof vest.

"What's your group kid?" Vigilant shrugs "Don't really have a name. We were only invited because we hold territory." I nod, but my focus is on Kaiser. He is most definitely planning to screw us all.

I should probably take charge while I still can. Despite the change in group, from what I can tell, I am still the oldest and tallest person here. I could easily claim command as the most experienced combatant.

And yet, I feel as though I will not need to. I teleport ahead of the group when I spot movement through my visor. Once at the head of the group, I see an ABB patrol coming our way. I teleport onto one of Bitch's dogs and tell her of the patrol.

Kaiser hears the warning and hides as well. Thankfully, Newter spots the patrol in time to pull Skitter and Sundancer behind a car with Labyrinth just in time. I teleport next to them. It is a really good thing that, when I teleport, there's no flash of light or any sounds.

It takes me a moment to spot Vigilant hiding behind another car. Once the patrol passes, we all speak up. I check my watch. 2 minutes. Kaiser decides to attack from the far side with Fenja and Menja.

Skitter tries to argue but the cocky bastard just goes with only a snarky "I didn't ask your permission." as he leaves. Skitter huffs "Are we going to stop them?" Bitch offers to catch up with them as she comes over with her dogs.

Newter, smartly, points out how dangerous it is to fight in enemy territory and our lack of time and Skitter asks Bitch to catch up their teammates on the situation. We gather in a huddle and Newter prompts Skitter to tell us about the ABB and Bakuda.

I am perfectly content to let Newter take the lead. I keep a lookout, my back to the group while they plan. Besides, it's good practice for Newter. He seems to have a knack for it. According to Skitter, Bakuda likes to set traps.

At least Skitter offers to check for traps with her bugs. That's right. Skitter is a Master cape with very fine control over bugs. Newter decides to take the second floor while Bitch takes the ground floor with her dogs.

According to Sundancer, she's artillery but she's not sure she can use her power without hurting a lot of people. So, she's got a heart. Good for her. Newter decides to have her and Skitter protect Labyrinth.

He turns to Vigilant "Name and what can you do?" "Vigilant. I can do a few things but I suppose the best description is combat Thinker. A bit of precog, enhanced reflexes, etc." Newter nods. Coil's mercenaries were setting themselves up on the roof nearby.

My best guess? Coil sent us with a sniper team. Sundancer glances at me "And you?" I look back at her. "Anubis. Let me know if you see Oni Lee or Lung. I can't really help with Bakuda except for clearing a blast area."

I look at Vigilant "Hang back and let us know if anything comes to you." I then look at Newter "I'll join you on the second floor." He nods and Skitter sends in her bugs. Not long afterwards, we hear explosions go off.

Skitter says they might be motion activated and she sets off another bomb with her bugs. The people inside are panicking as we head towards the building. As Bitch, her dogs, and Newter run to the building, I teleport right to the window.

I grab the side of the building before I can fall and punch in the glass, clearing the window so Newter can get inside. I slide in just as Newter arrives at the window. We take turns knocking ABB members unconscious.

Newter just has to touch most of them and they fall unconscious. As I run ahead to deal with one guy holding a semi-automatic, I hear what I can only describe as a 'poof' sound before there's a thud.

I turn but all I see is some kind of smoke or powder. I don't see Newter. "Newter?!" I call out. Nothing. I teleport to the window and climb out, holding onto the side of the building. I'm just in time to hear Skitter yell into her phone "Oni Lee is in the building!"

'If that fucking assassin killed Newter I'll rip his head off!' I think. Vigilant calls out to me but I only hear my name. I teleport to him "What?" "Newter's down and Lung is here." My heart drops and I look at Labyrinth.

I sigh. "Lung is a priority." Before I can go, I hear Skitter talking on the phone. Vigilant speaks up "Kaiser's taking on Lung with Fenja and Menja. He's blocked the way with his knives." I groan as Sundancer looks at me "Shouldn't you go there and stop Lung?"

I shake my head "At this point, Lung's probably already started to change. Skitter is right. Oni Lee is an assassin and a priority." I look around as Bitch comes out of the warehouse on Brutus. Skitter runs to her.

I'm still looking for Oni Lee when I hear Skitter yell "Bitch!" I see Oni Lee get shot twice before exploding into ash on the ground next to Brutus. Then, the sniper rifle the mercenaries were using falls from their building.

He's fast. I teleport to a roof and look around. I spot Oni Lee leave a copy behind to hold Skitter while another moves to kill her. She manages to kick one and they both explode into ash. Lee manages to stab Brutus and bury a throwing knife into Skitter's mask while I watch.

I teleport down right behind where he appears next and throw a punch. It connects and he stumbles a bit. He looks up at me. When he doesn't move right away, I teleport away. Just in case.

Turns out, I was right to do so. Oni Lee was trying to use that as a decoy as he sneak attacked me. I purposely pull down my bandana, showing the most skin I have all day. I grin at him, holding my arms out to the side as I yell "C’mon little Oni! You and me! Let's see who's faster!"

Oni Lee nods and I teleport onto the roof of the warehouse, only to quickly teleport back to where he was standing a moment ago to destroy his copy. This way, I force him to follow my movements, only for me to destroy his copies as he makes them.

It soon becomes clear that, with my faster cyclic rate, I am the faster and better teleporter. I grin as the world shifts, twists, and bends to Labyrinth's will. I have discovered through this fight that Oni Lee, unlike me, cannot teleport to a spot in mid-air.

This makes for some fun for me as I teleport to a location just before Labyrinth makes it sink into the ground. I reach Labyrinth and squeeze her shoulder. "Atta girl Labyrinth. I'm gonna finish him off. Make a path for me?"

She nods and I teleport through the tunnel she makes for me straight to Oni Lee. He teleports a few times but Vigilant is quick to call out where he's gone, and I am even faster at getting to him. I finally manage to grab him. The real Oni Lee.

I grin as I teleport with him and slam him into the ground. I start pounding into him. The Oni Lee below me explodes and I feel something hit my back. I glance over my shoulder and teleport behind him.

I punch him in the back just as he teleports away. I could feel it. The split of himself from the copy. I swing my leg up into the copy to take it out of commission. It takes me a few tries to pin him down again, but when I do, I focus my power on him.

I can see him frantically look at the ground upon which he stands, and I know I have him. I grin, striding up to him and grabbing his collar. "See, that's the fun part about being me. I can make you a normal, weak, everyday bastard gang member."

He is so fucking scared right now. I can't help but wonder if I should kill him. ...No. That goes against Faultline's central dogma. So instead, I kick him in the head, knocking him out. I pull off his mask, just to be sure he's knocked out.

I pull out a spray bottle filled with Newter's sweat. The bottle is no bigger than my middle finger, and I spray Oni Lee's face before putting his mask back on and teleporting down the the group. Skitter has instructed Labyrinth and Vigilant to take care of Coil's man that fell from the roof.

When did that even happen? Regardless, I join them as Skitter and Sundancer join Bitch on Brutus. Skitter apparently wants to check on Newter. I teleport onto the back of the second largest dog, rubbing the remains of its ear to calm it a bit.

Bitch shoots me a look but doesn't say anything. Bitch argues that we should leave Newter and go fight Lung. Sundancer argues how horrible that is but Bitch shrugs saying she wouldn't be surprised if people left her (Bitch) to die.

Skitter leans in and whispers something to Bitch. I don't hear what it is, but I do know that it only sort of works. Bitch stops Brutus at the bottom of the stairs. The dog I'm on stops just steps away from them. I hop off, scratching its neck as I do in thanks.

I wait for them the climb the stairs before teleporting to the top of the stairs behind them. The dust cloud has cleared since I was last here. My heart drops at the sight that awaits us. Newter is lying in a pool of his own blood, not moving.

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	9. Chapter 9: How the Mighty Have Fallen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight against the ABB continues. Words are exchanged, shots are fired, and problems are solved.

Newter has a knife wound just below his shoulder blade that stretches along his side. My companions stop just before their feet hit the puddle of his blood. That's right, hallucinogenic blood. I wonder, if I shut off his power, if it would still be active.

I don't want to risk it right now, but it's something to try later. I'd put away the spray bottle before rejoining the group and I am now reminded that I am the only one truly safe from Newter's fluids. In my combat boots, jacket, and gloves, none of my skin is exposed.

Skitter tells Bitch to get rubber gloves or saran wrap and a first aid kit from downstairs. I put a hand on Bitch's shoulder as Skitter talks to Sundancer. "Just the kit. I can move Newter if needed." Bitch nods and leaves. Skitter goes down the hall and I stay with Sundancer.

Skitter soon returns with a plastic sheet. She and Sundancer lay it down by Newter's feet upside down just as Bitch comes up the stairs with a first aid kit. According to Bitch, it feels light. Fucking fantastic.

Skitter looks at Bitch "What about the-" I interrupt. "No need." I say as I lean down and pick up Newter, one arm under his chest, and another under his legs. It takes a bit of effort since I'm being careful not to aggravate the cut as I place him down on the plastic sheet.

The three stare at me and that's when it truly hits me. I am the only adult in the room. All of these capes are teenagers and the only conscious ones are girls. Sure Bitch is strong, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm a 47-year-old, 6'4" man.

Powers imply trauma. I became a rogue to try to limit the horrors everyone faced, but these kids before me...I couldn't protect them. It's an enlightening thought. I am quick to snap out of it though for the sake of the child at my feet.

I help Bitch look for purses. It takes me a minute to figure out what Skitter is thinking. When I do, I stride over to Bitch. She glares at me. I roll my eyes but keep my voice firm. "It's nothing personal. She's panicking under pressure."

We return to Sundancer and Skitter. I choose to run up the stairs with Bitch. Bitch tosses three purses at them while I rummage through two more. We find period pads and apply them to Newter's cut. When I see that Skitter is tense, I nudge her with my elbow.

She looks at me "Relax. If you were doing something wrong, I wouldn't let you do it." Once he's all bandaged up, I carefully pick him up. "I'm gonna get him back to Labyrinth and Vigilant. They can watch him." I go to the window and spot Labyrinth past her maze.

I focus on teleporting right behind her. Without fail, I appear behind her. She whirls around and runs over when she sees that I have Newter. I put him down and look at her. "Take care of him will you? Lung is still here and they're gonna need me. If you need evac, you know what to do."

She nods and I teleport back into the window just as the entire building shakes. Thankfully, I teleport two more times. Once in mid-air over the first floor, and another onto one of Bitch's dogs.

A section of the wall is torn off as a bunch of ABB members retreat through the hole, only to stop when they see us. They are quickly followed by Lung. He's 15' tall now, with scales, talons, and the beginnings on wings on his back.

FUCK! Not how I wanted this to go. Kaiser strolls in and generates a blade aimed right at Lung's chest. I roar at him "Kaiser you dumbass! This was what we wanted to avoid!" Kaiser glares at me and Lung unleashes something like a chuckle, though it is distorted by his form.

I am seething as I focus on Lung. I just hope that every other power of his is taken away when I do this. I stare at him and I can feel it, the energy flowing from me to him. It seeps past his armor and to that crystal inside of him.

My energy encircles his crystal, sending out almost a wave through his body. On the outside, Lung stumbles a bit and he looks at himself. Then he noticed Skitter as she told off Kaiser. I think I like this girl.

Apparently, Skitter 'accidentally' made Lung's 'crotch rot off'. I don't know how one might accomplish such a feat by accident, but it has made her a target. Lung tosses Bitch's dogs aside like stuffed animals before Kaiser starts encasing him in a metal pyramid.

I only notice what this means a little too late. I yell "Wait! I can't-!" But it's too late. Kaiser has blocked my view and a giant sword has cut into the pyramid. Lung regained his pyrokinesis and strength when I lost sight of him, allowing him to soften the metal and push his way out.

Kaiser calls him an animal, pushing him to the opposite wall with a pillar. "Your people... animals." with that, there are screams from one of Lung's followers. His feet pierced by metal from the floor, and his hands as well when he fell.

Skitter yells "Kaiser! No!" "Not your business, little girl." Kaiser chides, looking at her. She steps back in fear but persists "This is wrong." A blade inches towards the ABB member's neck, forcing him to arch to get away. Lung is watching, silent and unreadable.

Kaiser's next words make my blood boil. "Wrong? As far as I'm concerned, the moment you need to fall back on morals to argue something, you've already lost the argument. This is war." Lung charges Kaiser, but he's intercepted by spearpoints, Fenja, and Menja.

Upset but with my priorities still in order, I focus on Lung just as he shoots a column of fire at one of the twins. The column is cut off abruptly as my power takes effect. Lung looks around for the source of his problem.

Lung spots me and growls something that might have been a 'you'. Kaiser practically cackles as I teleport away from Lung, reestablishing my line of sight on Lung each time I reappear. "So that's what you meant! Can you only target his pyrokinesis?"

I growl as I teleport next to Kaiser, making Lung charge at both of us. I grab him and teleport us away from Lung, making Lung ram himself into the wall. I growl at Kaiser as we reappear between the twins and Skitter and Sundancer.

"You know nothing of true war Kaiser. Take it from the actual soldier. You're a coward and a pathetic excuse for a human being." I keep my eyes trained on Lung, so I can't watch Kaiser to make sure he doesn't stab me.

Unfortunately, Kaiser does punch me, making me lose sight of Lung just long enough for Lung to gain his enhanced reflexes again. Sundancer sends what appears to be a small sun at Lung. I can't look at Lung without looking at the sun so I close my eyes and pray it's enough.

Suddenly, the light goes out. I open my eyes to see that Kaiser has stabbed Lung. Sundancer yells at him that the fight was already over. I growl and turn on Kaiser. I shut off his powers long enough to knock him to the ground, my gun at his face.

Fenja and Menja come over, ready to attack me. I growl at him but Lung starts to get up. I can hear him grow larger. I narrow my eyes at Kaiser before teleporting to Sundancer. I grab her and teleport her to the door. She's dazed but she's further away from Lung.

I teleport back, ready to shut down Lung again, teleporting near Bitch, ready to get her away from Lung. But Lung goes for Kaiser first, beating him into the wall before tossing him aside and stabbing Menja.

Fenja catches her boss and then rushes to check on her sister. Bitch sends Brutus charging into Lung but he tosses Brutus aside and grabs Bitch. He manages to grab Skitter too as I teleport away from his foot that he tried to kick me with.

I've shut off his pyrokinesis, regeneration, strength, and reflexes...but he's still over 15' tall and covered in scales. It will take time for him to revert back to normal. I watch as he drops Bitch. I teleport to her, grab her, and teleport us both to the door before he can step on her.

It seems he dropped her so he could pull a bug off his eye. I watch, fascinated, as he slowly falls until he's on his face, unconscious. Skitter explains how she had one bug, carry another bug covered in Newter's blood to drug Lung.

She calls Tattletale to confirm his regeneration abilities. I am about to put a hand on her shoulder, but think better of it with my gloves. So, instead I step up to her, my eyes still on Lung. "Hey." she looks at me "Hm?"

I can see she's looking at me out of the corner of my eye as I speak. "My power, it will stunt his recovery. Whatever you do to him, I can only stall his recovery time." She nods as she approaches Lung drawing her knife.

I want to tell her to stop, that it's not necessary, but I just can't seem to form the words. Skitter calmly, deliberately, carves out Lung's eyes. She sheathes her knife and checks with Bitch about her and her dogs.

She turns, telling Fenja to advise Kaiser to drop the dog-fighting ring thing since they saved his life. I make damn sure to look her straight in the eye "And do let him know that I won't require payment to beat him senseless."

She stares at me but eventually nods, turning to leave while she carries Kaiser and Menja. Sundancer flinches back when Skitter approaches her. I sigh. People are getting powers much younger now, and it is doing horrible things to these children.

I follow them. Skitter calls 911 and hangs up as we walk to where we left Labyrinth, Newter, Coil's men, and Vigilant. Sundancer is freaked out about Skitter cutting out his eyes. I must admit, I am equally disgusted but I also understand why.

Apparently, one of Coil's guys was a medic. Newter is awake. I help Coil's man help up Newter. I look at Coil's guy "Thanks for taking care of them." Another interesting development is that Skitter apparently had her bugs collect the money from the warehouse into bags.

Sundancer grabs one, as does Vigilant, Coil's guy grabs 2, and Newter grabs one with his tail. Skitter picks one up and hands it to Labyrinth. Newter takes it for her. Newter pulls off my gloves for me so I can take Labyrinth's hand and we walk along together with Bitch and Skitter.

We'll split off and use the sewers to get back. As we walk, Skitter asks about Labyrinth and Newter explains that her powers make her less lucid. Seeing Newter hurt hasn't helped her mental state today though. I can feel Labyrinth squeeze my hand and I squeeze back.

I can hear Skitter call to me "I've never heard of you Anubis. New cape?" I look at her and I can't help but chuckle at the concept. I shake my head "No. I've had powers for about 25 years now. I've been a rogue up until recently though."

She seems startled by that. "Really? What were you doing before?" It seems to have been a reflex and she immediately tries to apologize. I shake my head "It's fine. To give you an idea, technically, today was my first time fighting another cape."

We part ways and head home. I use my teleportation to get us there faster. Once home, we get Newter to rest and I clean my gear of Newter's sweat and blood while we catch up with the rest of the team. Overall, a very eye-opening first cape fight.

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	10. Chapter 10: Warning of Namazu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introducing………a new protagonist?

The date is Friday, May 13, 2011. The time is 4:53PM. I stride into the PRT headquarters just as dozens of office workers are heading for the door. I stride towards the elevators through the crowd. A few people call out to me, but I know that if I stop they'll just escort me out or delay me.

I pick up my pace, reaching the elevator just as the doors open to reveal a tall man in blue and white power armor carrying a halberd (Armsmaster) and a woman in green wearing American flag scarves on her waist and lower half of her face carrying a sawn-off shotgun (Miss Militia).

Just as I'd hoped, they're both here. That increases the possibility that they'll believe me by 12.74%. Miss Militia's eyes widen as she spots me. Armsmaster abruptly stops and almost stumbles in his attempt to not run into me. They stare at me in silence for a few moments.

They share a few glances between each other before I see Armsmaster's mouth open "Can we help you?" I shake my head "No. I am here to help you." They exchange another glance and I continue. "The Endbringer known as Leviathan will attack this coming Sunday, the 15th."

They stare at me, the shock clearly visible on Miss Militia's face since I can see her eyes. "Wha- who-how-...Huh?" Undignified but I expected this reaction from Armsmaster. There was only a 34.73% chance that he'd say anything more intelligent than that.

It's not his fault. It's just a sign that his brain works faster than his body. Regardless, I must drive home my point. "Would you like me to repeat myself Armsmaster?" His mouth opens and closes a few times before he answers, almost in a whimper "Yes please."

I nod "The Endbringer known as Leviathan will attack this coming Sunday, the 15th." "And how exactly do you know that Miss?" A somewhat large woman in a suit asks, her voice curling up at the end, asking for my name as well as my explanation.

Oh dear. I'd hoped this wouldn't happen since this was one of the less likely scenarios. Now they definitely won't believe me. My best bet is to try to convince the heroes in front of me that I am being honest and hope that it's enough. Here goes everything.

"How I know does not matter. Nor does my name. All you need know, Director Piggot, is that Leviathan will be here between 24 and 48 hours from now." The director narrows her eyes at me, not even trying to hide her suspicions. I don't think I like her.

"Then why should we believe you? You could just be trying to incite panic and make us use up resources unnecessarily." I shrug "Then don't. Whether you believe me or not doesn't matter to me." With that, I turn around to leave the PRT. I hear Miss Militia yell at me.

"Hey! Wait! Hold on!" I look back "See you later Miss Militia, Armsmaster." With that, I focus on the door, forcing my time to speed up slightly so I am there in a fraction of a second. I hear someone yell "What the shit?!" Who it is is irrelevant. I continue until I am certain there is no chance of finding me.

I sigh. If they don't hit the switch and turn on that siren by the end of the day...a lot of people are going to die. I watch the sunset and wait patiently through the night. I wait...and wait...and wait. The silence persists, peaceful and undisturbed. If not for the charged tension in the air, it'd be peaceful.

I do not move until the sun creeps over the horizon once again, signalling the dawn of a new day. That's disappointing. Oh well. At least the thought is in his head now. I guess I'll just have to attend their meeting on Sunday. Maybe then they won't question my predictions.

Today is Sunday, May 15, 2011. The time? 6:52 AM. The Endbringer siren's wail pierces the previously tranquil streets of Brockton Bay. Policemen and police cars set up barricades on the street and guide the masses towards the shelters created for just such an emergency.

Mobs of people fleeing for the shelters. I, on the other hand, walk calmly, briskly, and purposefully to a building located between the Docks and Downtown. There's only a 7.31% chance that they'll use a different location for the Parahumans to meet.

~Weld's P.O.V.~

I go around the room, handing out armbands to whoever doesn't have one. I've just handed the Undersiders theirs when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn around to see a girl. She's shorter than me, with copper hair. I can't even begin to guess her age or her ethnicity.

She is wearing jeans, dirty sneakers, a t-shirt, and a simple black mask covering her face. Her voice is so clear and calm in the face of the impending chaos. I can see a small smile in the curve of the mask "Hello Weld. May I have an armband please?"

I don't know who she is. I've never seen her anywhere before. I want to ask for her name but I think better of it. So, I nod and give her an armband. When Legend calls out for movers, I see the girl walk up to the group. Armsmaster calls out to her though, cutting off Legend. "Who are you?!"

She stops and turns to face him, not quickly but not slowly either. Her voice is apathetic "I'm here to help. Does it truly matter who I am?" His response makes the whole room go quiet "Because you knew Leviathan was coming. How?" My jaw drops to the floor.

She sighs like she's bored "You can call me Aeon. And don't worry Armsmaster, Miss Militia, There was only a 6.28% chance you'd believe me. I only told you because you needed to be thinking about it so you would feel compelled to check your detection software."

There's a small uproar but Legend silences everyone. He looks at Aeon but Aeon is staring out the window. She lifts her hand, raising her pointer and middle finger together and moving her hand away from her body towards the sea. She stops and looks at Legend, her hand still outstretched.

"You need to finish. Leviathan will be here soon." Legend nods slowly and proceeds to finish up his speech. Or at least...he tries to. After a few minutes, he's interrupted again. This time though, it's by a wave slamming against the old building. All of the defensive capes reinforce the building.

They don't hold for long though as they are quickly overwhelmed by the force. Legend's voice can be heard across the entire room "Strider! Get us out of here!" With a thunderclap, everyone is out of the building. I look around, shaking myself out of the daze to see everyone else doing the same.

The water level is about halfway up my calves right now but we're not in the bay. The rain is affecting visibility now, making it difficult to make out landmarks. Legend is shouting out orders to get us into lines, preparing for Leviathan's next move.

I can see that some of the other capes are still recovering from Strider's teleportation or whatever just happened. Legend yells "Get ready!" just as Leviathan drops to all fours and charges at us. He was so fast I barely have time to blink before he's right in front of me.

My wristband goes off "Carapacitator down, CD-5. Krieg down, CD-5. WCM deceased, CD-5. Iron Falcon down, CD-5. Saurian down, CD-5." Not good. The fight has only just begun and we are already losing...badly.

~~Time skip!~~

~Skitter's P.O.V.~

"Miss Militia down, CD-6." My heart drops. I'm already worried about Tattletale and the other Undersiders, but we're losing far too many heavy hitters for my liking now. Then, something weird happens. Leviathan jumps, probably intending to scale the building. Why? I honestly don't know.

As he jumps though, he suddenly plummets towards the ground, stopping mid-air when he collides against the first after image, only to get smothered by the after image created when he fell. He is eerily silent when the water fades, he lands on the ground only to get buffeted by his own after image...again.

Things are quiet for a moment as we watch Leviathan get to his feet. He's not staggering...but it is not a clean movement either. Whatever just happened, it affected him. After a second, a few capes capitalize on his sudden stop and blast him. The fight resumes as if nothing had happened.

After a minute more of fighting, it happens again. Leviathan lunges forward, only to stop after just a few feet and immediately start running backwards. However, he is running backwards even faster than he was forwards. I didn't even think that was possible.

It'd be comical if it didn't happen during an Endbringer fight. As he runs backwards, another after image appears, trapping him between two walls of water as big as he is. Things seem to stop for a moment as the Endbringer struggles to move. The after images fade and he stills.

He suddenly starts using his tail and claws to lash out at any and all capes that dare to even move let alone attack him. One of his attacks cleaves the building next to him, dropping a few blasters as it falls. I can hear the comm list off names. The voice fades out as my brain focuses solely on Leviathan.

"Castle down, CD-6. Fulgur down, CD-6. Vigilant down..." I can't figure it out. Falling I think I can sort of chalk up to gravity...but running backwards? That doesn't make any sense. I'll have to look into that later. For now though, I need to focus on living through the fight.

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	11. Interlude 1: Danger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the face of an impossible threat, Anubis finds a reason to put himself and someone he cares about in danger.

Leviathan is attacking the city. Fuck. I'm pretty effective in most fights and against most opponents, some Shakers and Changers give me trouble but I can, for the most part, shut down any power house I meet.

What I can't handle...are Endbringers. I can outpace most of them, and pretty much match Leviathan, in mobility, but I can't do anything with that speed. Fat load of bullcrap that's doing me. I hate being helpless.

Faultline made it clear to us that we are not to engage Leviathan. None of us are equipped for that fight. Instead, we are confining ourselves to the Palanquin and riding out the storm. I have been grabbing supplies all morning.

The supplies are from storage facilities Faultline owns and range from water to non-perishable food to generators. In the meantime, everyone else is charging their phones and laptops to ensure maximum charge in case we lose power.

I teleport back into the Palanquin and drop off our supplies on the top floor. We've prioritized and created plans in case this building gets knocked down during the impending battle. I'm about to join the rest of the team in their poker game when I freeze.

I can see it now. The shelter where I adopted Buck. Rachel's shelter. All of the dogs there are in a prime position to be swept away in whatever tsunamis hit the city. I look at Faultline who is staring at me. She knows something's wrong.

I look at her for a good long minute before I speak. "I need to borrow Labyrinth." She narrows her eyes at me. "Explain." I take a deep breath and quickly explain to her why I want to save Bitch's dogs. In a nutshell, she provided me Buck and her dogs don't deserve to drown.

Faultline sighs and agrees, but only on the condition that I abandon the rescue mission should Leviathan come within 10 blocks of Labyrinth. I can do that. Thankfully, Elle is very lucid today and is all too happy to help me save the dogs. I teleport us to the shelter.

I already have a new location in mind on higher ground and further away from the Bay. With Labyrinth morphing the city so I have a straight line between the shelter and the new safe haven, I can teleport much further.

Granted, it is still slow going since I can only teleport 2, maybe 3 dogs at a time, but I am making progress. It takes me a good 30 minutes to teleport all of the dogs to their new location along with all of their food, water, toys, beds, and bowls that Bitch was storing there.

I could've sworn I saw Leviathan run backwards in the distance...I probably just imagined it though. After all, there are very few capes that can affect Endbringers like Leviathan...but none of them can do that to him.

I return to Labyrinth when I am finished, putting a hand on her shoulder. "We did it. Good job. It's ok. You can drop it if you want." She nods and lets the world return to its original state or form or whatever you want to call the change she makes.

I can see Leviathan tearing through streets in the distance. Now that she's not exercising her power, Labyrinth can clearly see Leviathan and all of the destruction he's caused. So, it comes as no surprise to me when she grabs my arm and hugs it tight as though it will protect her.

No. It will protect her...and she knows it. At this point, it has become clear to Elle that I will protect her with my life. Is it because I see my missing daughter in her? Maybe. To be honest, she fills a hole that's been open for many years.

I don't particularly care to examine the psychology of our relationship. I do know that it is perfectly possible that I might officially adopt Elle one day. She wouldn't mind. I know because she's said as much in her less lucid states.

She already comes to me for problems like any daughter would to her father. Nightmares, how to do things, opening jars, etc. Although, to be honest, Emily comes to me for that last one too. Emily has also asked me to get things out of reach for her whenever Elle is having a bad day.

I think Newter has a love-hate relationship with me. After all, I've got lots of, as he calls them, 'cool stories'. But, I have been known to lecture him on any bad behavior or habits. I like to chat with Gregor about psychology, philosophy, and population behavior.

He makes for quite interesting conversation and an interesting point of view. He is a very insightful individual. I think Faultline appreciates the assistance in caring for her team and having another experienced member of her team.

On top of that, Faultline and I have had discussions regarding powers, triggers, and the Manton limit that have lasted sometimes hours on end. After all, as someone with two trigger events, I am a good person to talk to.

From my personal research and understanding, when I first triggered, I had both my teleportation and my nullification powers. But, I think my Trump power was more of a power blunter than anything else.

But, it might have been dampening my own teleportation as well. Thus, when I triggered again in the Behemoth fight, my Trump power became its own thing, and more specific, so my Mover power was running at full capacity.

I free my arm from Labyrinth's grasp to wrap it around her shoulders and squeeze. "It's ok. I won't let him hurt you. Let's get you home." She nods, not taking her eyes off the monstrosity destroying our city.

Without releasing her, I teleport us back home. It takes a few jumps, but I hold her steady and let her recover fully from each jump before I make the next jump. When we finally make it back to base, I put her in her bed so she can recover from the jump.

Once I'm sure she's alright, I go to tell the others that we're back and what we saw. Obviously, Faultline is troubled by my report but is still glad to know that Leviathan shouldn't reach us. Overall, I am just glad to know that my new family is safe. For now.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	12. Chapter 11: The Walking Tsunami

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight with Leviathan continues.

Suddenly, an alert comes through "Leviathan is going to charge! Clear the street!" yells a voice I don't recognize. I am given a ride from an out-of-town cape to the roof next to me. I can see conscious and unconscious capes nearby. I hear over my wrist comm "CLEAR!!"

Then I see it, Leviathan stares towards the end of the street and leans forward, like a dog pointing with its nose. Suddenly, he crouches and dashes at impossible speeds down the street. I can see someone standing on the edge of said building. They don't move as he barrels towards them.

However, just as he reaches the end of the street, but before he can touch the building, he runs backwards at that same speed, slamming him through one after image, only to get pummeled by the second. I glance around at my fellow capes, only to find them just as confused as I am.

I hear someone yell through the comm "He's stuck! Attack!" Almost immediately, a volley of lasers and other ranged attacks hit the giant. Once freed, Leviathan looks around through the constant stream of attacks. He spins, whipping his tail around.

As he does, several streams of water fly at the capes who are shooting at him. He suddenly stops, stares, and shoves his hand down a side street, sending a wave down towards a building with some capes on it. I can see them get clear but Leviathan pursues a group of 3.

I can't imagine why he would. By what I could tell, they were all movers possibly carrying wounded. Was he trying to kill those that he had already knocked down? I get back on the ground and continue to try to help get injured and unconscious capes out of harm's way.

After a few minutes, I hear a voice over the call "Leviathan is heading your way Kaiser. Get ready." I only have a moment to process that I can see Kaiser not 20 feet away from me down the alley before the ground shakes and Leviathan appears. He begins to charge us, but only gets a few inches before he stops.

Even his after image has stopped. It takes me a moment to realize what happened. Clockblocker. The young hero has tagged Leviathan. I immediately call for someone to get Clockblocker away from Leviathan.

Thankfully, Trickster walks up and does just that. A doctor comes over and tends to Clockblocker's injuries as Armsmaster calls out the new plan. We are going to spread out, block his escape and hope that Scion comes to save us. Great. Fat load of help I'm gonna be in that.

~Aeon's P.O.V.~

I watch as Kaiser, Rune, and other telekinetics work to put temporary restraints on Leviathan while Armsmaster set up Bakuda's bombs to go off if Leviathan moved past them. I sigh as I watch how this is likely to play out.

I can't help but shed a few tears for all the capes that have already fallen to this monster...and for those who will. Poor Kaiser. He has such a slim chance of surviving this fight. He is, by no means, a good person, but damn it he is still a person and he does not deserve to be set up like this.

The second I see Leviathan's tail twitch, I focus my energy on him. Specifically, I focus on pushing against his speed, slowing him down. I am able to halve his speed...but he is still ridiculously fast.

I watch as he defeats and kills Fenja and knocks aside Kid Win. I can't even bear to watch as he kills Kaiser. I know he's killing him, but damn it I also know that it's going to be messy. Just before he kills Kaiser though, I get a vision.

Usually, when I see the future, I see possibilities. I usually focus on only viewing the 5 most likely possibilities so my head doesn't hurt for days. This time however, instead of seeing 5, or even the infinite possibilities that I would see if I didn't focus, I only see one.

In this vision, I see a cape in a dark costume surrounded by bugs. I can also see Armsmaster further down the street behind her. He raises his halberd and sends a wave of energy at her, disabling her armband without disturbing her.

Another flash shows me several possible fight scenes between Armsmaster and Leviathan. In each, Armsmaster manages to cut off chunks of Leviathan's tail with his new halberd. However, they vary in Leviathan's response to them.

I focus on them, forcing them to show me what happens in fast-forward. What I see...is not good at all. When I had seen Armsmaster setting up Kaiser to die when he didn't have to, I had hoped that he did so with good reason.

However, in far too many scenarios, Armsmaster refuses to alert anyone to his position or call for backup. The results for those fights are gruesome in their own unique ways. I can't help but gag at a few of the outcomes.

Armsmaster will be lucky if Leviathan lets him live. Granted, in a few of those fights, Armsmaster actually manages to cripple Leviathan. BUT! It appears that, the more damage he does to Leviathan, the worse condition he will be in when he leaves the fight.

I panic and try to think of a way to prevent this. Unfortunately, "Kaiser dead, CC-6." and Leviathan runs off, still carrying Kaiser's torso in his claw. That poor man. I'd been so absorbed in my visions that I didn't even hear him scream.

Suddenly, I start to see spots across my vision. FUCK! NOT NOW! I almost scream at how horrible this timing is. So, instead, I focus one last push against Leviathan, slowing him down as he runs. I hear over the comm "Armsmaster down! CC-7! Leviathan is heading West."

I sigh in relief, knowing that he didn't die. He's a great tinker, but he needs to let go of his insecurities to become an even better hero. It's a good thing that bug girl was there, he'd definitely die if she wasn't.

I get flashes of the same cape from my earlier vision getting injured after drawing Leviathan after them and away from civilians. Then, another where a man in tactical military gear gets killed by Leviathan. There's another where Scion comes and defeats Leviathan for us.

In another, Bitch/Hellhound bravely joins the fight, losing various numbers of dogs depending on the reality. In another, Legend gets knocked out and then half-drowns, sustaining serious mental damage and loses control over his lasers. These images frighten me.

But, what I see next makes me cringe. My visions are expanding, showing me more and more possibilities. I'm having trouble focusing. I glance up to see only more pain, destruction, and death. I see the PRT treating villains poorly in the med bay.

I see Miss Militia dying and Eidolon losing a leg. I even have to see civilians getting mowed down by Leviathan. My head is pounding now and I'm struggling to stay standing. I focus on Leviathan, forcing him to slam himself into his own after images one last time.

My vision swims as I fall to my knees. My head is throbbing and I can barely hear through the ringing in my ears. I make one call over my comm "Aeon down, CC-6." I sigh as I lie down and hope that the pain doesn't last...even though I know it will.

I'm only vaguely aware of someone picking me up and moving me. I groan in pain to let them know I'm alive and in pain, but they proceed regardless. I don't know how long they carry me before they put me down.

I'm placed on a cart of some kind and rolled into a very loud, very bright room that makes me flinch, cover my ears, and squeeze my eyes shut. I can't process what the noise is due to the ringing in my ears.

I groan for a bit at the pain but the person moving me doesn't stop. Eventually, I am lifted and placed on something kind of firm but also a bit squishy. I hear muffled noises, but I don't know what is being said nor who they are directed at.

My whole body is shaking and I can taste bile in the back of my throat. Shit. I think as I roll onto my side. I lift up the bottom of my mask to uncover my mouth. My whole body lurches but I don't throw up, I just dry heave.

That's when I remember that I haven't eaten in days. I continue to dry heave. I can barely make out more yelling and footsteps past the pain in my head. I'm pushed to lie back down and someone shines a light in my face.

I wince and grimace, groaning as I look away from the painfully bright light. With my head turned to the side, I can see a cape being placed in the, thing, next to me. I get a flash of him dying. There's no alternate reality where someone gets to him in time.

He is dying. Every second he is slowly falling into that abyss. I know it will hurt more and will extend the pain in my head, but the vision shows me his wife, pregnant with their first child crying over his grave, and I know I have to do something.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	13. Chapter 12: Job Offers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeon finds herself with a choice to make. With potentially hundreds of thousands of lives at stake, she can only hope that she's making the right one.

I lift my pointer and middle finger together, and focus on his chest wound. His heart has a large slash in it. I slowly draw circles in the air, counterclockwise, as I force his body to rewind to just before he was hurt. It's a painful process, and the man screams as I forcefully undo the damage.

Thankfully, it must have happened just before they brought him in, because it only takes a few seconds for his body to seal up. I force my power to...its almost like saving something on a computer, but I'm forcing it to save over a previously saved file.

Once I'm done, my hand falls to the...thing I'm laying on. He's unconscious but alive. I smile just as I faint. Even in sleep, I am constantly plagued by images of the future. Except these, show me what is happening, not what might happen. This way, I never miss anything.

I watch as Miss Militia, Legend, and Armsmaster will gather around my unconscious body. Legend asks "And who's this?" Miss Militia answers "She's a rogue. Aeon. According to parahumans online, she's been seen all over the world, alerting people to Endbringer attacks since Behemoth in 2003."

I see a young woman walking to me. I wake up just as her hand touches my arm. I groan but it's nice that she's blocking the light with her body. Mostly. She glances at me but says nothing. I'm kinda surprised I still have my mask on. Oh well.

I look at her and groan "Who are you?" She glances at me past her hood, staying silent for what feels like an hour before answering "Panacea." I look down at her hand on my arm "What're you doing?"

"Checking you for injuries. You don't have very serious physical injuries but you've got a serious migraine so you'll be miserable for a couple of days." "Wha-what's a migraine?" She pauses, looking at me for a long moment before answering.

"A severe headache. You should avoid bright lights, loud noises, hits to the heads, etc. Not uncommon for Thinker powers-." "Wait. What's a Thinker power?" My voice is sluggish and a bit slurred. If she didn't know any better, I'd bet she'd think I was drunk.

Still, the startled look on her face tells me just how little I know. She opens her mouth and begins to explain to me the power classification system. I don't know when I stopped listening, my power showing me the entire explanation in a matter of seconds.

I wave my hand sluggishly "-t's ok. I got it now." She nods hesitantly. She removes her hand and leaves without so much as a goodbye or anything. A bit rude but who could blame her. I probably scared her. I'm left alone in silence and I close my eyes against the offending light.

The quiet is nice. Then my peace is interrupted. "You're a precog, aren't you?" I don't have to see them to know that was Miss Militia. My eyes are shut, and I do not open them. Instead, I let my powers show me the possibilities.

In one, I answer honestly, and I'm invited to join the Brockton Bay Wards. In the reality where I agree, I'm given pills and my head stops throbbing. But, I get in a fight with Shadow Stalker. It doesn't end well.

In the reality where I turn down their offer without giving a reason for it, I accidentally use Miss Militia's real name. In the reality where I don't tell them anything about my powers, they still invite me to the Wards, but I end up fighting with Glory Girl on my way outside.

In another, I am invited to join Faultline's Crew because I have the same tattoo that Newter, Gregor, Weld, and all the Case 53's have. In another, I leave, and I'm invited to join the Undersiders a few days from now.

Tattletale likely already has an idea of my powers. I'm snapped out of my daze by someone calling out to me. "Aeon." My head snaps up to look at Legend. I don't know what he said. I'm normally at least somewhat aware of my surroundings when I have my visions, but my head still hurts and viewing all of those scenarios has only made the pain worse.

Miss Militia speaks slowly "You're a precog. Right?" I swallow the lump in my throat and nod. Miss Militia is giving me a pitch about joining the Wards here. I want to. I really want to. But then I remember the confrontation I am to have with Shadow Stalker.

I don't hate villains. Probably because my power tends to show me their struggles. So, she and I will get into a fight over that if I join the Wards. But, she will be gone in a few months. These are times when I really appreciate my powers.

"Not right now." I say, interrupting Miss Militia. She looks startled and Armsmaster sounds a bit defensive as he asks "Why not?" I turn my gaze on him and smile to myself "I'll get back to you in a few months. Shadow Stalker should be gone by then."

They stare at me but Legend quickly shakes it off. He's probably attributing my statement to my precognition. I'm released the next day with my migraine, as I now know it to be called, still in full swing.

I manage to get outside the building before I fall to the ground as a new vision flashes before my eyes. It must be a new scenario, generated by my own actions. It's terrifying. Coil snatches me from one of the shelters where I'll stay the night.

I would offer to take Dinah's place, but Coil would just keep us both. After all, between the two of us, Dinah could tell him the probability of success of a plan, and I could tell him exactly what must occur in order to achieve that success.

But, while Dinah can still make her predictions even on drugs, I cannot. My power takes focus to narrow it to view individual timelines. But, God forbid he find out what else I can do with my powers. He'd be unstoppable. I can't let that happen.

I know from my visions that, no matter which shelter I go to, Coil will get to me. I need to go somewhere else. Faultine's Crew? No, I care too much about people to only help when getting paid. Who else? The Undersiders? HELL NO! That won't help. Wait! That location, with the dogs, I'd be safe there!

I'd had a flash towards the beginning of the Leviathan fight showing a cape evacuating Bitch's dogs to a safe place. Animals love me and I might be able to tell Bitch where that other cape moved her dogs.

I struggle to get to my feet, only to hear Miss Militia call out to me. I shunt myself forward several paces to stay out of anyone's reach. Coil knows about me now. I'm almost sure of it. I look around at all of the onlookers and I panic.

I run, shunting myself forward so I'm moving about as fast as Leviathan was but without all the force behind it. I don't stop until I reach the shelter with the dogs. There I collapse, exhausted and in far too much pain to do much else.

Two days later, my head still hurts, but it's better. I'm looking at the addresses and names of buildings until I finally find the one I'm looking for. I walk through the opening that once held a door and look around.

I see a sea of people of various ages, genders, and ethnicities. It takes me a good 20 minutes to finally find the one person I was looking for. I spot a head of long, brown, curly hair and go over to it.

Thankfully, this is exactly who I've been looking for. I move to tap the person on the shoulder but they turn around before I can. I give the lanky girl a small smile, grab her hand, open it, and shove the scrap of paper I was carrying into her hand.

I then close her hand around it "Rachel really needs you as her friend Taylor. This should help." I move to leave but she grabs my arm. I glance at her. I can't tell if she's mad, hurt, or scared. "How do you know who I am?"

There's an edge to her voice. I think she's trying to threaten me. But seeing as I am not intimidated by her...I don't think it worked. Still, I can see that she is trying to get answers and I suppose I should tell her something.

I smile "The same way I knew that Leviathan was coming, and the same way I know that you can patch things up with your friends." She kinda just...stares at me. I gently slide my arm out of her hand and smile, pointing at the paper in her hand "It's where her dogs are."

With that, I turn and leave the shelter. The longer I stay in one place, the worse it will get for me. Should I have asked her not to tell Coil about me? Maybe. The fact is...he already knows about me.

If anything, Skitter will do her very best to protect me for handing her this chance to patch things up with the Undersiders. After all, Skitter already doesn't like or trust Coil. If my memory serves, she tries to rescue Dinah in a few realities.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	14. Chapter 13: Plan B

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH PLAN A?!"
> 
> \-----------------------------------------
> 
> A near-death encounter seems to be a fine place to make friends...right?

I make my way down the street purposefully until I round a corner. Then I use my powers to shunt myself forward in time so I can put more distance between myself and the shelter. I almost ran into one of Coil's mercenaries there.

I am forced to slow down though when my power shows me a threat up ahead. I decide to slide on my mask just before I walk around the corner. I stop as soon as I do. What I see before is by far a funnier scene than most of my visions.

About halfway down the block is a group of maybe 10-20 people, probably Merchants, surrounded by three individuals. The large group is hemmed in by forcefields, forcing them to stay still or impale themselves on the 2-dimensional planes of solid energy.

On one side stands a female figure in purple and other dark colors holding a big gun. The second individual is in dark blues and greys and a gas mask. He looks unbothered by the large crowd of people before him.

My power shows me a few scenarios which tell me that he is probably the forcefield generator. The last individual is another man in green and black and holding a pair of guns. I'm not sure what kind.

I don't know anything about guns so I have no idea what kind of guns anyone is using. I stand back and watch for a bit, waiting to see which version plays out. "ALRIGHT!" bellows the blue and gray forcefield maker.

"Clearly, our earlier lessons did nothing to teach you that THIS IS OUR TERRITORY! At this point ya'll've tried to elbow your ways in here five times since we kicked you out. Further attempts will almost certainly get messy. This is your last opportunity to back the hell off."

At this, the three began to converge on the mostly trapped individuals funneling them out and away from their neighborhood....Towards me...I sigh as I realize that I will have to deal with them.

They see me and draw their weapons, preparing to fight me. "CRAP! PLAN B, PLAN B!" yells the man in green and black. "WE DON'T HAVE A PLAN B!" yells the girl in purple with the gun. "WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH PLAN A?!" yells the man in blue.

This would be comical, if not for the small army coming at me. I wait for the closest one to swing his bat at me. Just as he does, I 'grab' one of his friends with my powers and fast-forward him so he gets between me and his friend, taking the hit for me.

The next one to swing at me but I 'catch' his arm with my power, sending it backwards as I fast-forward his friend into the swing. I continue with this pattern until I get a flash of the girl firing her gun, unleashing a stream of lightning on the group.

My vision is already spotted since I'm still in migraine-land, as I've decided to call it, so I decide not to try my luck with that gun. I shunt myself backwards, then forwards up the fire escape to the roof of the building.

From there, I use my powers to freeze the group, or at least most of them, in place so the gun hits more of them. I manage to time it just before the girl raises her gun and fires. "HELL YEAH BITCHES!" The girl screams.

Both of the girl's teammates yell "FULGUR! WHAT THE HELL?!" There's an eerie silence as the thunder from the gun's discharge fades away, leaving only the faint sounds of its victims groans in its wake.

Suddenly, the man in green hollers "CRAP! WHERE'S THE GIRL IN THE MASK?!" I don't bother to wait for him to explain to his friends. I don't know who they are, nor who they work for. I do know that Coil is looking for me and that I'm not willing to risk them working for him.

With this in mind...I run....and I hate myself for it. Stupid migraine-land. I find that my visions are getting harder and harder to focus as I go. Is my migraine really that bad? Or...is it something else? Regardless, I continue to run.

Suddenly, I stop as several visions show me a forcefield appearing in various distances in front of me. I stop, several feet in front of a forcefield. I hear a crisp, clear voice call out, not quite bored but not quite panicked either.

"Please stop running. We just want to make sure you're ok. Mostly cuz somebody opened fire without getting a good read on the situation." I turn to see the trio of capes that had surrounded the merchants. I glance between them, unsure of how to proceed.

With my powers acting up the way they are, I cannot make a proper decision. So, I decide to look for a way out. "Sorry. Got off on the wrong foot there. Apparently you got caught in our crossfire with the Merchants. Vigilant spotted you which made some confusion on the plan."

I narrow my eyes at the one in blue as he continues, pointing at the girl and then the boy. "I'm Castle, and this is Fulgur and Vigilant. I don't think I've seen you around here-Wait no. Weren't you at the Leviathan fight?"

Oh that's right. I think I remember seeing them there. I nod. "Do you have somewhere to stay for the night? Maybe buy you some food? Make it up to you somehow?" My powers have started to clear up somewhat, though my migraine hasn't.

I can see that he will indeed buy me food or whatever I ask for to make it up to me. Although...I can also see that there is a possibility to learn more from them should I mention my lack of permanent accommodations.

"You part of a gang or something?" I ask, trying to see if they might work for Coil. "Nah, we're our own team. No real affiliations yet, except that the neighborhood we just left is 'our' territory. We guard it, and keep it free of other gangs."

This could work...especially if they're willing to stay in that 'unaffiliated' category. I think on it, before eventually deciding that I could escape from them if I really needed to. My biggest concern might be this Fulgur's lightning gun.

"I would not say no to a place to stay for the night." The man who calls himself Castle replies "Cool. You can take the guest bedroom." What's a bedroom? I wonder to myself as I follow them to the edge of the roof.

I could bother to actually climb down, but it is much faster to fast-forward myself through that. Before I can though, the one called Vigilant calls out "Uh, yeah, we don't actually walk on the road...ever. Even less now that Leviathan has torn most of them to shreds."

I glance back at them and he waves me over. "C'mon. We'll show you." I do so hesitantly. As I reach them Fulgur speaks up "What do we call you anyway?" I pause. I normally don't bother to give my cape name since it's not my real name, but it would be inconvenient if I don't here.

"Aeon." I answer simply, hoping that will be the end of the questions. It is not. "Cool. So, are you a teleporter or something? Vigilant saw you on the ground but then you were on the roof. So, what are you? Speedster? Teleporter? Flyer?"

She gasps a little "Can you turn invisible?" Thankfully, Castle speaks up here "Give her some breathing room. You're the one who almost shot her, this is us apologizing." At least she's quiet now.

Then, Vigilant speaks up "You ok? You seem to be responding badly to sound." I nod and mumble something along the lines of 'migraine-land'. He nods "Oh, believe me, I know. Migraines suck. I've got some medicine for that back home if you want some."

I look at him "There's stuff for that?" "Yup. Varies widely in strength. I've got prescription stuff. Not the strongest but it handles mine pretty well." I must admit, I'm a tad upset that I didn't receive any of this medicine while I was in the hospital-thing.

With that, Castle starts generating horizontal forcefields in mid-air, forming steps into the air. As we climb these steps, the panels behind us fall away and are replaced by fields in front of us, forming a sidewalk in the air and over the rooftops.

I can't be bothered to pay attention to where we're going nor how long it takes. I'm too busy enjoying the dark, silent streets. Eventually, we come to a stop above the roof of a building. Vigilant goes down a set of forcefield stairs to the front door.

He enters the building and I am left with Fulgur and Castle. Thankfully, neither of them are talking. We are not kept waiting long before a second-floor window is opened and Vigilant leans out to look at us. He waves us inside.

I find this odd since he was clearly able to enter the front door in his full costume but I decide not to question it. Castle takes us down to the window and we climb inside. I look around to find modest furnishing.

There's a desk, a dresser, another one of those things that I was resting on in the hospital, and two doors. Vigilant looks around a bit before looking at me "So uh yeah uh. Furniture. Bed. You have your own bathroom, it has no other entrances." He points to one of the doors.

"I'll bring you up some dinner and some migraine medicine. If you need anything just holler. You might be able to fit into some of Fulgur's clothing if you want to wash yours. I'll have Fulgur show you how to work the shower since it's kinda finicky."

I honestly don't know where to begin. I suppose the best place to start would be to ask for definitions. "Umm.." "What's up?" Castle asks. "I-I have a-a few questions..." "Go ahead." Fulgur says cheerfully. I reply "What's a bed? What's dinner? And what's a shower?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


	15. Chapter 14: A Party in Hell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeon spends the night with the capes she met on the street, though her night is not nearly as interesting Taylor and Lisa's.

Despite the initial shock, Castle, Fulgur, and Vigilant are more than happy to answer each of my questions in turn. Fulgur is especially helpful in explaining what each thing is for in the shower. For eight years I have been on my own and on the move.

I knew English even before I was on my own, but I'm not entirely sure where I learned it. I learned to read and write from people in shelters. I'm not great, but it's legible. I normally just ate food whenever it was handed to me.

I couldn't afford to be picky. My memory is shotty at best, but I clearly remember the fear, the adrenaline, and the power I used to get away from the source of my fear. The memories of that day, or lack thereof, still haunt me.

I must say, a shower is much more enjoyable than the concept suggested. Although, according to Fulgur, it will take a few more of these 'showers' for me to be considered 'clean'. I wouldn't know. The 'dinner' was enjoyable too, though I could not tell you what it is that I ate.

I can feel the medicine work on my migraine, relieving my brain of its pain, if only marginally. I am not sure about the 'bed'. I have seen similar constructs in the hospital thing and have only ever been in one for healing...not sleeping.

I sit down on the bed, legs folded in front of me as I face the window. It's not that my power sees Coil's...but it does react when he uses his. He uses it so often that I'd be amazed if he ever makes any decision without exerting his power.

I focus my power on him and Dinah. Dinah. I'm so sorry. You know why I can't help you. I can almost hear her voice, like an echo in my mind. Or maybe it's our powers talking. She does understand. She doesn't want me here.

No. That's not a strong enough emotion for what she's feeling. That's it. I can't be there. If Coil had me instead of Dinah, there's over a 40% chance that he'd already control Brockton Bay. If he had both Dinah and myself...he'd control Brockton Bay by the end of the month.

I can't free her without handing Coil Brockton Bay. He can't be allowed to hold it when the Slaughterhouse Nine make their move. Too many would die. It is not that I can actually see Dinah or speak with her.

But, when we view the same timeline, we are both present in that moment, giving us the briefest of interactions before the vision changes. Dinah doesn't get affected by Coil's power the way I do. Like everyone else, she forgets about the timeline that Coil collapses and discards.

I don't. I remember. Even when I wasn't in the same city as him, there were a few times when his power had such a large impact, that it affected people in other cities. I fear what Coil could do if he compounded his own power with my own.

After all, my power includes his in its calculations of probabilities. Dinah's can change its statistics faster than mine and considers data from further in the future, but mine is a bit more precise.

I can feel it. He's looking for me. My power is normally very broad ranging. It gets easier to process when I focus it. Normally, I force it to show me the 5 most likely scenarios. But, I can also focus it using other parameters. It's how I know where and when Endbringers will attack.

I can focus it on an area, on a person, etc. It's easier the broader the topic. For example, it's easier to see the events of a city than it is to focus it to a single house within that city. Therefore, focusing on Dinah and Coil is easier than just watching Coil.

He's asked her a few times over the past 3 days about the probability that he'll find me. The number's been getting lower each time he asks and with each decision I make. In a way, Dinah is telling me the same thing.

Granted, I see all the numbers she can give him based on what Coil and I do. I hear the probabilities before Coil can even ask for them, and then adjust my own actions to create the outcome in which Coil has the lowest probability of finding me.

Neither of us is writing the book, but I have read a chapter ahead of Coil while Dinah has read all possible drafts of the book of life. In a sense, someone else is writing it. Dinah gets to read the drafts first, then I edit it, and then Coil gets to read and edit it further.

I think that's how all individuals with 'Thinker' powers interact. We're editors for the book of life. Some of us get to read the next chapter before anyone else, others get to read the outlines, some get the drafts, others have input on the storyline itself.

I don't know when I fell asleep, only that, when I wake, the sun is up. I sit up, and try to catalog what I saw while asleep. Since I'm constantly seeing visions, it can be hard to pinpoint when my precognition starts showing me what's happening while I sleep.

I saw the Merchant party. I saw Skitter and Tat-no, Taylor and Lisa there. There's another man that my power shows me. He's tall and broad. I watch the bloodbath unfold with disgust. One boy triggers. Poor kid.

Then, an orange figure drops into the room as the mall shifts and bends unnaturally. He goes for the case of 'superpowers in a can'. I see the man from earlier stare at Skidmark, leader of the Merchants.

All of a sudden, Skidmark's power stops working. Vigilant mentioned a class of powers that affect other powers. He must have one of those. I am fascinated as I watch him teleport. I seem to experience things a bit faster than most do, making the world move slower in my eyes.

What I see, is him almost jumping between locations, but also jumping out of existence temporarily. It lasts maybe a nanosecond. No. Is he moving to an existence out of time and moving there? Is he just moving at hyperspeed?

I can't be sure. But The way he fades out of reality for that nanosecond makes me think that his power is much more complicated than teleportation. I hope I get the chance to ask him about it someday. Teleportation is a fascinating power.

There was something I was supposed to do...but what was it? Just then, my abdomen vibrates while making a garbled, rumbling sound. If I remember last night correctly, Fulgur says that society refers to this phenomenon as one's 'stomach is growling' indicating hunger.

I suppose after surviving on as little nutrition as I have been, my body got used to the lack of food. Now that it has had, as Castle calls it, 'real food', it is liable to display signs of hunger. I think it used to do that...but it was so long ago that I can't really remember.

I slide off of the bed and go to the door not leading to the bathroom. I open it to find a hallway, a railing preventing me from simply walking off the floor and falling to the one below. There are several other doors, likely other rooms, and a set of stairs leading to the first floor.

I decide to take the stairs, sliding down the railing when I see exactly how I can slide down the entire length successfully. I hop off at the end and look around. It's a modest home but plenty of space for the average family.

An earthy, almost spicy scent floods my nostrils. I follow it to find what I assume is the kitchen based on the ones I've seen in shelters. I glance around to see a table and several appliances. I use my powers to tell me what they are and what they do.

So, that means they have a refrigerator (keeps things cold), an oven (cooks things), and a microwave (heats things up). I can't quite figure out what the source of the scent is but it seems to be coming from a glass container on the counter.

I'm not focusing my power right now. The less I focus it, the less my head hurts. I can see all sorts of events occurring throughout the day though. Some much less likely than others. I'm snapped out of my daze by a voice behind me.

"Good morning." I turn, my eyes focusing on the present as the visions of the future become a holographic projection in the background and those in front of me come into focus. I'm not sure how to respond...but repetition has proved effective when talking to people so I try it.

"Good morning?" I offer in response. One of the boys nods. I realize that none of the capes that brought me in yesterday are in costume right now, but they are seated at the table. How did I miss them? "Want some breakfast?" offers who I assume is Castle due to his build.

I decide to assume that breakfast is like dinner but in the morning, so I nod. He grins and grabs a plate. It is soon filled with, as he calls them, pancakes, bacon, and sausage. He asks if there's anything I won't eat but I don't understand the question.

Are people normally picky about such things? I decide to answer 'no' and ignore it. I look around at them and out the window. The sun is fairly high in the sky. Unusual. I normally wake with the sun. "How long was I asleep?"

Fulgur is all too ready with a response. "Let's see, you went to bed around 11 last night; it's almost noon. Assuming that you slept for the majority of that, about 13 hours." Something clicks into place in her head and she looks almost horrified as she poses her next question.

"How sleep deprived were you?" Another question that I do not have an answer to. I shrug. "I sleep when I am tired and wake with the sun." I hope this is sufficient. Judging by their faces as I take a seat at the table and take my first bite of bacon...it isn't.

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	16. Chapter 15: Questions and Answers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Questions are asked and answers are given, but how helpful will they turn out to be?

The shorter and skinnier of the guys stands as he asks me "How's your head?" It takes me a moment to realize that he is asking about my migraine. It has been a few days since the Leviathan fight and the medicine seems to have helped. It still hurts though.

Not sure how to word it, I decide to go for simplicity "Closer to a dull ache than the throbbing from yesterday." Still not the worst migraine I've ever had. But that was a long time ago, with the really tall lady.

I can guess that the girl is Fulgur, making the skinnier guy Vigilant. Vigilant walks to the cabinet and grabs a small bottle. He twists off the top and brings over a few pills. I glance at him, questioning the pills.

He smiles "It's the migraine medicine. You can dissolve it in liquids. Want some water?" I nod. Vigilant grabs a glass from a cabinet, but he has to reach past a woman to get it. How did I not notice her? It seems she's been quietly using one of the appliances by the oven this whole time.

"Waffle Iron," Vigilant says. I didn't ask anything, but it isn't hard to put the pieces together that he's referring to the device the woman is operating. "it's a waffle iron, and that's my mom, Fulgur's too." He finishes his explanation, pointing to the woman.

I understand the concept of parents, mothers and fathers. I also understand the connection they supposedly have to their children. Long nights have been spent contemplating what my parents look like, where they are, who they are, and what might have happened to them.

So, Vigilant and Fulgur are siblings. I look between them. I suppose I can see it. Both have dark hair and somewhat similar facial structures, despite the gender difference. Do I have any siblings out there?

I shut down that thought as soon as it pops up. I'm distracted as it is and can't afford to think on that subject for too long unless I want to miss everything that's said to me. According to my visions, this morning is pivotal to how the Slaughterhouse Nine recruitment drive goes.

I'm not entirely sure how without focusing on the Nine, but I've seen over a dozen futures for each version of this morning. I decide to try eating and having that water/medicine. Everything I put in my mouth is delicious.

I eat slowly but deliberately. If I eat too fast, I'll upset my digestive system. Vigilant hands me the glass of water. I take a sip, enjoying the feeling of the cold water on my throat. I glance up at him "Thank you." I'd been taught some basic manners at homeless shelters so I can get by there.

A man appears in the doorway sighing dramatically and hanging his head "Alas, we are entirely out of syrup." There are a few groans from Fulgur who complains "But if there is no syrup, then what is the point of living?"

I think they're joking, but I could also be wrong. I'm not great at reading social interactions. The two burst out laughing. It was a joke. The man notices me. "Oh, hello there, I'm Wren and Evelyn's father, you're the new team mate, Era, or something like that?"

I'm not sure how to respond to that. Though I suppose Evelyn might be Fulgur, making Wren either Castle or Vigilant. I don't think I was asked if I wanted to join, though that was among the things that I saw decided this morning. I suppose I should just be honest.

Never saw any point in lying. It just complicates things. Before I can answer though, the one I assume is Castle interjects "Not a team mate, at least not yet, maybe, but that conversation hasn't happened yet. Just trying to apologize with a place to crash and some food"

The man shrugs and goes to Vigilant's mom. He wraps his arms around her and rests his chin on her shoulder. I decide to assume that he is 'dad' until otherwise corrected. I speak up "Aeon." I say, just before taking another bite of bacon and a sip of water.

My plate is almost completely clean now. "Ah." the man replies, probably to acknowledge my correction. I finish my water and decide to focus on the visions. My power likes to show me dangerous or important ones without me having to focus.

Imagine a line of mirrors going away from you, except each one is showing a different image and they fill your vision. I suppose that is close to what I see. I watch as I choose to accept or deny Castle's upcoming offer to join their team.

The results are dramatic and terrifying. In the ones where I decline his offer, I always run into one of two people. In most cases, I run into Coil or one of his men. Sometimes I get away...but not always.

The one that really scares me is in grayscale. The less color a vision has, the less likely it is to occur. In this one, I decline their offer and avoid Coil for several days. Then, I run into Jack Slash. He wants to recruit me for the Slaughterhouse Nine.

I can feel my pulse pick up speed as my anxiety skyrockets. Why? Why would Jack Slash want me? I decide to focus on him and the probability of him approaching me. No matter what I pick, Jack Slash still comes and he still picks me as his candidate.

Great. Just what I need. But, I can see that there are no situations in which Coil gets me and Jack Slash comes to recruit me. A result of Coil's power? Some other factors? I can't be sure. What I am sure about is that neither is all that good.

I can't seem to find one where Jack gives a clear reason for wanting to recruit me either. Damn. That's the problem with infinite possibilities...you'll never see all of them. I suppose there's only one course of action I can really take, knowing what I do.

"Hey. We need to talk." I jump a little as the voice jars me out of my visions and into the present. I look to see Castle next to me. "Huh? Sorry I was..distracted." "Ok. We can talk about you joining the team, but I feel like there's some stuff we should do first."

I nod and he continues. "Specifically, you need to go shopping." Shopping. That's when people buy stuff with money...I think. Never done that before. "Cause the fact of the matter is your clothes are rags, and you could use an actual, dedicated costume."

Hold on a moment. He wants to take care of that, before talking about me joining? That seems a little backwards. I tilt my head to show my confusion. "That soouunds...backwards." Now he looks confused. "What?"

It takes a bit of work to refocus my attention. Confusion messes with focus which messes with my powers. "Buying me stuff. Is that not what people do after recruiting someone? Not before?" He's silent for a moment before declaring "Hell if I know."

He seems to be as confused as I am...if not more. I decide to try and see what would happen if I prompted the conversation regarding me joining them. For the most part...they're not that bad. I just can't spring it on him. The clearer I am about it, the better.

Castle continues "Evelyn seems to have a good understanding of sizes and styles. She'll be helpful while you shop, and Wren can go with you to help you carry whatever you do buy. I've got to patrol once they get back."

It seems as though he just remembered something as he declares "I'm Martin, by the way, Martin Aytiss, Castle in costume. I just realized that I never introduced myself out of costume. Fulgur is Evelyn outour of costume, and Vigilant is Wren."

Again...pretty sure that's something someone should say after recruiting someone to the team. Should I bring that up? Should I just tell him what I saw? Probably not the second one. They don't need to know that that's coming at this stage.

"I would give you my name and make this a fair exchange but...I have no name to give." My voice trails off to the end as I avoid making eye contact. I'll be honest, this is one of the few things that I'm ashamed of.

After all, shouldn't everyone have a name? Family? A heritage? My face and skin tone make it hard to determine my ethnicity. I'm not sure how long I was in the 'lab.', but I was young when I escaped and I was likely younger when I was brought there.

Cast-no. Martin is silent for 20 seconds. No sorry. It's 10 seconds to everyone else. "What do you mean you don't have a name? Are you a cape all the time? That's got to be utterly exhausting, mentally, emotionally; how do you stand it?"

I want to explain but it seems he's on a roll now so I wait. "It simply won't do to have you walk around without a name. If nothing else, we need a good cover story for if anyone asks about you. Let's brainstorm you a name while we wait for the others. If you have no objections."

Oh dear. It seems I may have given him the wrong idea. I shake my head "I-. I suppose it is not that I lack a name so much as I likely cannot remember it. The only reason I have the name Aeon and a mask is because society dictates them as necessary for capes."

"Yeah well, if you do join the team, we'd like you to have a secret identity so we can take you places with our secret identities without giving us away." Oh. That explains the whole secret identity thing. I suppose most capes would make some enemies along the way.

Have I made any enemies? Aside from Coil...and that thing with the tall lady...I don't think I've made any enemies. I think Martin jokingly threatens me "Also, if you don't pick a name yourself, or let me pick a name for you, I will tell Evelyn and you know exactly how she is."

Hmm...he's right. I do know Evelyn/Fulgur. She talks a lot. I would rather not have to sit through Evelyn listing off any and all names that pop into her head. I sigh "Very well, we can pick a name before they return from patrol."

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	17. Chapter 16: A Walk on the Dark Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason takes a walk on the darkest side of town, and he doesn’t like what he sees.
> 
> ~~~~~~~~~~
> 
> I’m not dead! Can you believe it? Not me! In all seriousness tho, sorry to keep you waiting. I hope you enjoy!

I have to blink several times just to process what I see before me. Everywhere I look, I see depravity, greed, and primal animalistic tendencies that we normally hide behind civility but which the Merchants display like animal mating rituals.

The Weymouth shopping center. Once a sprawling example of capitalism and consumerism, now a safe haven for the Merchants. I heard about this Merchant party from some punks I beat up earlier while walking Buck.

I had returned Buck to the Palanquin and talked to Faultline, agreeing to call in reports periodically so they knew what was happening. To be honest, I'm not sure I want to describe what's going on here.

I definitely don't want Labyrinth to see any of this. The amount of blatant disregard for human decency here is enough to make even my skin crawl. I glance around my surroundings once again.

Surprisingly enough, I did not come here to fight. I came here to find people who are not here by choice, and get them out of here. I've already extricated 3 girls, 4 boys, and 1 old man from their various circumstances.

This party disturbs me on a number of levels. Though I couldn't tell you why it bothers me so much. After all, I'd spent most of my career as a soldier hunting down terrorists and other scumbags the army couldn't deal with publicly.

You'd think seeing stuff like this before wouldn't faze me. Perhaps what did it was the fact that I had seen so many of these people on my daily walks before Leviathan came. Good, normal people, reduced to nothing more than feral, rabid dogs ready to snap at any moment.

I spot a teenage girl shying away from a crowd surrounding the broken display window she's standing on. Unlike the other two girls on the platform, who are giving everyone else quite a show by changing in front of them, she is cringing and shaking where she stands.

Another person who is not here by choice. I move to get in a better position to help her, but I am shocked by what I see next. A tall man, close to 6' in height, steps up, throws the girl over his shoulder, and yells something about buying her, tossing bills and pills into the crowd.

He then proceeds to make his way over to a small group that then goes off to a side hallway. I follow them so I can listen in. The men in the group stand guard at the entrance to the hallway while two teenage girls talk to the one I was planning to rescue.

After running through a few possibilities in my head, I come to the conclusion that they were doing what I was planning, only they were public about it. I decide to move on for now, but first I want to see if any of them are capes.

Neither of the two men are, but two of the girls are (not the one I was going to save). I like to reach out with my Trump power to see if the person I'm looking at has powers. As soon as those ghostly hands touch a person, I can see if they have a passenger.

That's how I know that those two girls are capes. They look familiar but in the horrid lighting and the crowd I can't tell from here. I'm about to leave, but then I hear the girl they rescued speak up. "Oh my god."

I turn back around, ready to help her, but what I hear shocks me even more. The girl describes how one of the girls with powers got shoved into a gross locker and had to be carted away by paramedics.

I can't hear anything, but I'm getting the sense of what happened. Then, the girl who, apparently, got shoved into a locker yells "Enough!" going on a rant about how the girl didn't help her back then.

I know what she's talking about even without having the full context...bullying. But not just any bullying. This was serious enough to probably trigger the poor girl. God I want to do something. To say something. But I can't, for so many reasons.

I step away before I do something I'll regret, making my way through the crowd and extricating 3 more people before I hear someone yell of the entire crowd "Hey Sisterfuckers!" All at once, the music dies down and a cheer rolls through the crowd, growing into a dull roar.

On a platform at one end of the mall stood all of the major players of the Merchants just behind a railing of metal bars haphazardly welded together. Skidmark is holding a microphone and it seems he's added a cape to his pathetic costume, making him look even dumber.

Next to him is his girlfriend, Squealer, holding a remote in one hand. On Skidmark's other side is Mush who looks far too much like Gollum from Lord of the Rings for me to take him seriously. There are 6 individuals behind him.

If rumors are to be believed, Skidmark's been recruiting new capes recently. That's a lot of new capes. Skidmark creates bands of, essentially, really fast moving sidewalks. He manages to make a crude square on the floor, with bands of energy hurling people into the ring.

Skidmark hollers "You piss-licking losers know what the red armband means! Bloodshed! Violence! We've got ourselves a free for all brawl! Last 5 standing in the ring get a prize! No rules!" My anger has reached a boiling point now as I resist the urge to kill him right now.

If I shoot him now, most everyone in the crowd will turn on me. I wouldn’t survive. I'm good, but I'm not that good. The next thing Skidmark does though makes my blood run cold and my heart skip a beat. "Let me tell you cock garglers what you stand to win!"

A woman brings him a metal box. He pulls out five metal canisters. He withdraws a stoppered glass vial from one canister and practically screams "Superpowers in a can!" I can't tell if I'm angry or just shocked.

Apparently this is all the motivation that some people needed as the crowd explodes into action. I'd seen my fair share of bloodshed in my day…but this? This wasn't combat. This was murder. Plain and simple.

Skidmark was turning people into cold-blooded killers who would never be able to live with themselves after this...if they survived. I speed dial Faultline and slip in my Bluetooth as I draw my trench knife.

"Yes?" Faultline asks when she answers. I am both yelling and whispering as I quickly tell her where I am and what Skidmark just said. There's a silence on the other end. If I didn't know her better, I'd say Faultline had hung up on me.

Then, I hear the calm, calculating voice of my boss give me very clear instructions "Get the case and everything that was in it. We'll be there as soon as we can. In the meantime, feel free to kill the bastards."

I grin "With pleasure." I say as I hang up and work my way through the crowd towards the platform where Skidmark stands. The only reason I am not teleporting, is because it will draw too much attention.

I get sidetracked a few times protecting people as they run for the exits but I eventually find my way to an open spot in the floor. Just as I get there, my vision tilts as images flash before my eyes. Just as I start to register what is happening my vision returns to normal.

I lean against the wall and look around. I can see that all of the capes on the stage are also struggling to stand. The two teenage girls are nearby as well. One of them looks to be down for the count while the other seems to have her wits about her...sort of.

Now that they're in slightly better lighting, I finally know where I've seen them before. It's Lisa and Taylor. They were with Rachel when I adopted Buck. Making them Tattletale and Skitter of the Undersiders.

What on Earth are they doing here? This is no place for children. Well...this is no place for anyone, but especially not children. Not even superpowered children should be here. That's it...I'm killing all of the Merchant higher ups.

Speaking of, it appears that one child has triggered in the fight, shooting out white flashes of energy that eradicate anything they hit. Skidmark calls off the fight and demands that the child comes up with a name.

I want to help him, but I don't have a clear line of sight to shut down the kid's power from here. Thankfully, just as some guy named Doug moves to collect his 'superpowers in a can', the shopping center starts to morph and shift as Labyrinth works her magic.

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	18. Chapter 17: Little Black Lies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anubis navigates a true Labyrinth battlefield

Newter drops down from the ceiling and knocks out one of Skidmark's capes with his spit. Why do I keep forgetting about his hallucinogenic fluids? He manages to grab a vial before racing across the stage. Just as he reaches Skidmark, Skidmark raises his stupid cape, layering his power onto it.

Since Newter is already mid-jump when this happens, he can't stop. At least he remembers to spit on Squealer before hitting the cape, knocking him and Skidmark backwards from the impact.

I've managed to climb up onto one of the pillars Labyrinth is erecting, giving me ample line of sight. I'm just in time to see Skidmark and Newter bounce apart, with Skidmark layering his power onto Newter and the ground around him.

Now that simply will not do. So, I focus on Skidmark, my power racing over the crowd to grab hold of his passenger. I can almost see the ghostly hand shake the passenger a bit, as though wringing it's neck.

Immediately, the layers of directional panels disappear, allowing Newter to land, not so gracefully, on his ass. At least he wasn't lobbed in another direction. Naturally, Skidmark is more than a little confused and angered by his power shutting down like that.

He raises his arms again, but no panels appear this time. Even across the room, I can see Newter grin as he gets up and runs for the case. Another of the Merchant's capes kicks it aside as they run to intercept Newter...or help Skidmark. I couldn't be sure.

Either way, they're useless as Newter simply uses them as a baseboard to jump over the small group to the case. A flash of light to my left wrenches my attention away from the stage. I look over to see that the child, now called 'Scrub' is having another power burst.

I only realize my mistake a second too late as I look back at the platform in time to see Skidmark use his power to launch the case of vials and papers into the air. Everything within the case goes flying.

I can see a few of the papers 'float' down to where Skitter is but I let it go for now. Instead, I pull up my bandana and hood, teleporting mid air to grab the vials and papers that I can. Newter and Shamrock, our newest member, manage to grab the ones that I miss.

I glance up at my family's newest addition. Shamrock is a Case 53, like Newter and Gregor, but she looks completely normal and has all of her memories. She filled in a fair number of blanks in that story for us when she joined.

She's a probability manipulator. In layman's terms though...she's super lucky. She's nice and helpful and all...but she's kinda cocky so there's been a bit of tension between she and I. It's getting better though…I think.

But that's not what's important right now. What is important is shutting down 'Scrub' before he really hurts someone. Not that he hasn't already...but the less damage he does the better. So, I call Spitfire on my cell phone.

"Sup?" "You're with Labyrinth right?" I voice my guess since we never leave her alone when using her powers. “Yup." "Good. I need a good line of sight on that kid unleashing the white lights. Can I get a hand?" She chuckles a bit "Comin' right up." I am so glad she didn't use a nickname.

I don't usually mind them but they get on my nerves sometimes. Especially in high adrenaline situations like this one. Just then, the floor beneath me shoots up towards the ceiling, stopping a good 3 stories up.

I put the phone up to my ear "Tell Labyrinth I said thanks." "Sure thing gra-" "Not one more word out of you young lady." I chide, not letting her finish. I can hear the start of a whine, something along the lines of 'you're no fun' but I hang up before she finishes.

I look down to see that Labyrinth has constructed her own maze within the shopping center. It is truly a work of art honestly. Regardless I look for Scrub among the many walls that litter the ground floor.

I finally spot him when his power goes off again. I can't tell if it's intentional or not. Regardless, now that I've found him, I shut him down. Once the kid realizes that his power has stopped working, he backs away from whoever he's fighting.

Now that he's alone, I teleport behind him, withdrawing the taser that Faultline had lent me for this party. With it, I easily knock him out. As much as I'd love to sit him down and help him work through the emotional problems that come with a trigger event, now is not the time or place to do so.

Once we've taken out all of the Merchants, I meet up with the team on the stage. We look through the pages that we collected to find several missing. That's right. Skitter took those. I look at Faultline "I saw where they floated off to, I'll get 'em."

She nods and I teleport away. I use a few teleports to get me outside and away from the few individuals who are still fleeing the scene. Once alone, I pull down my bandana and hood, unzipping my jacket to look smaller and less like I'm armed.

Once I am certain that my gun and taser are hidden from sight, I look around for Tattletale and Skitter. I eventually spot them in an alley nearby and I approach. I can see that they have 4 men guarding them. Probably mercenaries.

Good thing I'm not approaching as Anubis. I run over as I call out "Lisa?! Taylor?!" When they turn to face me, I sigh in legit relief when I see that they are not seriously injured. Lisa yells in 'surprise' "Gideon?! What are you doing here?!"

I push past the soldiers to stand in front of not two, but three-no, four teenagers. There’s a boy is unconscious and seems to be missing part of his hand. Taylor has a gash in her arm and Lisa looks like she took a really hard hit to the head. The third girl looks to be fine though I can't speak for her emotional state.

I shake off Lisa's question in favor of my own "ME?! I should be asking You that question! This is No place for children!" I see Lisa give some kind of hand signal to the soldiers but I don't know what it means.

Lisa almost rolls her eyes at me but she covers it well. The girl I don't know looks between Taylor, Lisa, and me. "Who is this guy? How do you know him?" Lisa replies calmly "We met him at an animal shelter a few weeks ago."

Lisa looks at me, pointing at the unconscious boy "We came to get him. His sister is a friend but she was too scared to come get him herself so we offered to instead." I'm pretty sure she's lying...though what about is unclear.

Regardless, I have a job to do. I glance down to see the pages Lisa and Taylor are holding. "What's that?" Lisa pauses for a moment before answering "Some of the pages from the case Skidmark had flew out. We caught them."

I look down to see one of the pages mentions Cauldron. Yup. Those are probably the missing pages. I look at Lisa and we stare at each other for a fraction of a second. In that time, I shut off her power and release my hold on it. A silent reminder of how I could be doing this.

She chews her bottom lip before seemingly getting an idea. "Oh right! You work with the PRT! You can get these to the authorities!" She collects the pages from Taylor and hands them to me. "If you guys need any help in research, would you give me a holler? I'm pretty good at it."

I glance at her and give her a slight nod "I'll have to ask my boss so I can't make any promises, but I will put in a good word." She gives a fake sweet smile "Thanks Gideon." I nod and look at the third girl.

"Are you okay?" I can see her look between Taylor and Lisa. Does she know who they are? If so, then she really shouldn't be giving me that 'please get me away from them' look. My situation is not much better than theirs…but Lisa just told her I work for the PRT so I can’t blame her.

Taylor speaks up "We're heading to the hospital now. Just waiting on a ride." I nod and turn to leave. The soldiers are giving me stink eyes. I guess they didn't appreciate me pushing past them earlier.

I give them a knowing, cocky smirk as I walk past them "Gentlemen." I keep walking until I'm a few blocks away. Then, I turn down an alley and teleport to the roof. No sooner have I arrived than I hear a voice from behind, scaring the shit out of me.

"Told ya he'd be here." I whirl around, gun in hand and safety off...only to find that it's Shamrock. She grins at me and I know that my gun would've jammed anyway. Because it's Shamrock. I sigh heavily as I put my gun away.

She chuckles "You sure took your time getting here. What's the matter? Getting slow?" I can feel a breeze coming as I glare at her. I grin and shut off her power. Immediately, her grin falls into a cross between a pout and a frown, just in time for the wind to blow her hair into her face.

I hear a muffled "I hate you." just as Faultline appears in my peripheral. Without taking my eyes off Shamrock, I hold out the papers to Faultline. "Tattletale says we can contact her if we need any holes filled."

I don't have to see Faultline's face to know she's disgusted by the idea. Newter chuckles somewhere to my right but I keep my gaze on Shamrock. The breeze had died down and she'd pushed her hair out of her face...just in time for another gust, messing it up even more.

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	19. Chapter 18: School’s in Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aeon discusses the ins and outs of her powers to the group. Fulgur is all too happy to act on this information.

Well, I must say, I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I am. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I don't think it was this. I am quite impressed that this market has survived Leviathan, the Merchants, Fenrir's Chosen, and the Pure.

I suppose the police officers do help with that. The market where Martin (Castle) sent Wren (Vigilant), Evelyn (Fulgur), and I to is towards the edge of town and was left mostly untouched by Leviathan.

We walk around, looking for clothes that can work for both everyday and for a costume. Evelyn, as expected, dived right in to the task of getting me a wardrobe. It took her a bit to fully register that, given my homelessness and poverty, I have never owned anything in the proper sense.

I do not have my own style nor do I have a preference for my costume. Although, with all of the designs that I have seen in my years, one does come to mind. The anonymity, the simplicity, the elegance, it has always held a special place in my heart.

I keep that one in mind as we look for clothes. It takes me several tries before I finally manage to convince her that I don't want to draw attention to myself in any way. Thus, function over form, and practicality over style. Also, no sequins, dresses, skirts, or heels.

After getting at least a week's worth of clothes, paid for by Martin as per his insistence, we move on to the costume. I am fast-forwarding people's heads slightly so they turn their heads fast enough not to see me. Only if they're turning to look at me of course but it helps to calm me.

It's why I hesitated to give my name all those years ago. I don't quite know where the name came from. Perhaps a play on my power? A sick joke? I can't be sure. But that one day, when I first saw that costume I love so much, I almost told him something else.

I don't know what I was going to say, I collapsed before I could get the first syllable out. There's something about him. Is it his power? I don't know. I have all but avoided him since. Again, not entirely sure why. A feeling I suppose.

Still, it takes a little while to find everything we need that we can get here and decide to head back. My power shows me several potential run-ins with the Merchants and Fenrir's Chosen when taking certain paths, so I lead the way away from those streets.

A few times, I pause at a corner, waiting for the enemy group to pass the juncture for their street so they won't see us pass. I can tell that Wren/Vigilant understands, to some extent, what I am doing. He even manages to catch 'sight' of a stray Merchant that I missed.

We manage to make it back to their house with no issues. I am given to understand that their last name is Dryden and that I am to refer to their parents as Mr. and Mrs. Dryden. At least...those are the societal standards. I don't know what they want to be called.

We enter the house, closing the door behind us. Evelyn announces that we're home and we climb the stairs to drop off the stuff in the room. No. To drop off my stuff in my room. I'm not sure I like that word. 'My'. I have never had the need for it before.

Strange. Up until now, I didn't even consider the cape identity, Aeon, to be 'mine'. Evelyn and Wren leave me to change into one of the outfits we bought today. I change into 'jeans' and a 't-shirt'.

I'm also wearing something called a 'bra'. I find it a bit uncomfortable but Evelyn promises she will explain why it is important when there are no boys around. I can't imagine why that's necessary but Evelyn is good at explaining things so I'll trust her on it.

I come downstairs when I am done changing, carrying the pieces of my costume so I can work on it while listening to conversations. Martin is in the kitchen peeling some kind of fruit. I take a seat at the table and get to work on my costume design.

Wren made sure we got a sketchpad for me to draw my ideas in. It takes a few tries to get the basic design down. A bit less flowy, a bit more form-fitting, leave no skin showing. That looks about right.

I go to my room to try on the costume and see what I'm missing. The costume is very simple. A light gray cloak over an all black, form-fitting suit. Everything from mask to gloves to shoes is black.

I change out of the costume for now and back into the t-shirt and jeans. I decide to head back downstairs, taking a deep breath as I reach the bottom. I look around but I can't find them on the first floor, until I find Vigilant on his phone at the kitchen table.

I'm not sure how I should start so I just kinda hang out in the doorway. Before I can even ask, Wren speaks up "Martin and Evelyn are downstairs." "There's another downstairs?" He looks up from his phone "Oh yeah. Basement."

I nod, pretending to know what a basement is but not curious enough to ask him what it is. I decide that if I'm going to do this, I might as well come out with it. "Could you show me?" "Yeah sure." He stands. "Right over here." He shows me to a door.

"Knock knock! You decent?" I hear something along the lines of a 'yes' before Wren starts down the stairs. I follow him. At the bottom of the stairs is a large room divided by several curtains. The half closest to the door is littered with machinery, wiring, tools, and other stuff.

Fulgur's workshop no doubt. I can't see what's behind the curtain, but given that Martin steps out from behind it I'm gonna guess it's his space. There are several chairs filled with parts, toolboxes, and other junk, rendering them more or less useless without some effort.

I believe the saying goes 'like ripping off a band-aid'. I take a deep breath and look at the team I have joined. "I need to explain my powers to you." Evelyn immediately looks excited, leaning in slightly "Can I record this for research?"

A part of me is screaming not to let her in case anyone else gets a hold of it. On the other hand, another part of me wants to let her since she looks so excited. I shrug "If you can make sure no one else gets it."

She grins and starts rummaging around for a means of recording me. My biggest concern is that Jack Slash or Coil might somehow get it. Unlikely, but always possible. Wren moves a toolbox off of a chair and sits, scooting a bit closer to me.

Martin, seeing that every other chair is occupied by far too many items to move, simply creates his own chair out of forcefields and sits down. That's pretty clever of him. I don't bother commenting and instead perch myself on top of a workbench. My legs hanging off the side.

It takes me a bit to collect my thoughts before looking at them. "What do you think my power is?" They take a minute to look at each other before Wren looks at me "You've clearly got a Mover and a Thinker power. I think you have some precognition but that's just a guess."

I nod. About as much as I expected. I've been giving my brain a break from focusing my visions so I've seen literally dozens of ways this conversation could go. I bite the bottom of my lip. A lot of what I know of my power is from guessing and self-assessment.

"You are correct on that Wren. I do have the 'gift' of precognition." I say, putting up air quotes when I say gift. Martin raises an eyebrow at me "You don't think it is?" I sigh "Many people, their precognition kicks in when it's needed...mine is always on."

I can see Wren forming a question so I quickly add "I see every possible future playing out in front of my eyes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Even now, I can see them. Every way this conversation can go, every way life can proceed outside of this room."

I've never actually had a proper conversation with another precog so I don't know what it's like for others. I'd love to ask Wren about his own precognition sometime. "I only sort of have precognition," Wren admits, "it's usually like a low buzz, white noise, background noise."

He continues, "It's always analyzing threats seen and unseen and spikes whenever it notices a serious threat. It's not just for danger sense, though, it also feeds me other information, like someone's mood, or how to place my feet just so on slippery ground."

He lets out something between a sigh and a huff "That said, it's usually easy to ignore. What you describe, that's got to be infuriating, like a 3D movie without the glasses, but about a million times worse." This last bit is directed at Martin and Evelyn.

I give him a sad smile "When I'm not actively watching, it's like a projection playing in the background, except...imagine a line of mirrors going away from you, except each one is showing a different image and they fill your vision. I suppose that is close to what I see."

"But," Evelyn begins falteringly, "your power isn't just precognition, right? You can move, and fast too. Otherwise you would've corrected Wren, right?" I nod. "Correct. But, to explain my speed, you must understand my power at its core. Fundamentally, it is chronokinesis."

That elicits a gasp from Evelyn and Martin, Wren simply leans back in his chair, crossing his arms in front of himself. "So, I am not teleporting when I move. What I do is I fast-forward myself through a predetermined path. Doing what would take a minute in a second."

"Ummm...I can also do that to other people. Making them seem like they're running instead of walking. I can even rewind someone through a path they have already taken. I can't do that to myself though."

"You're a remote control!" Evelyn snorts out as she begins laughing almost uncontrollably. "If you could dimension hop then you could also change the channel." I suppose that is a fair analogy for my power. Though I can do so much more than a tv remote.

I shrug and nod. She isn't exactly wrong. "Are you what caused Leviathan to back up?" Martin asks with some trepidation, even as Evelyn continues laughing. I can't help but chuckle a bit "Yeah. He really hates it when I do that. But, he still hasn't found a way around it sooo."

I can't tell if they're impressed or shocked, but I suppose I should keep going. Is there anything else? Oh yeah! The injuries thing. "Also. Let's say you get stabbed. I can rewind your body to before the injury occurred, then put you into another timeline where you don't get hurt."

Fulgur speaks up, "Can you do THAT for yourself?" "Sort of. I naturally heal faster than most and I can speed that up to heal myself. I cannot rewind myself to before an injury though." Fulgur thinks intently on this before speaking.

"Give me a few days, and I'll have a rig set up so that we can test and explore this, because this merits further investigation. Sorry Castle, chronokinesis is marginally cooler than forcefields so we're hitting pause on our tests."

I suddenly remember another use of my power "Oh! That's right. I can also freeze people in time so long as my full attention is on them, and I can slow down individuals so they move in slow motion."

Fulgur then shoos us all out of the basement even threatening to get her lightning gun and zap Vigilant if he doesn't clear out. "TWENTY FOUR HOURS, OR MY NAME ISN'T EVELYN 'THE LIGHTNING BRINGER' DRYSDEN!"

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	20. Chapter 19: Ah the Luck of the Irish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Crew enjoys betting and a prank war between Shamrock and Anubis. Anubis comes home to find his family in trouble.

I walk over to where Gregor is sitting in the Palanquin. I sit down across from him, a grin plastered on my face. "Hey Gregor, Anubis and Shamrock are going at it again. I bet ya Anubis puts gum in Shamrock's hair."

Gregor looks at me, his face looking somewhere between bored and annoyed "Don't be stupid Newter. That won't happen." I scoff "Oh yeah?" "Yeah." "Wanna bet?" I ask, leaning my arm on my knee as I lean forward conspiratorially.

Gregor stares at me for a good long minute before speaking "20 bucks." I nod "Deal." I'm sad to say that I lost that bet. But, it gives way to more bets between us. Emily walks over as we're agreeing on our latest bet.

She puts $50 on the table "I bet Shamrock messes up Anubis so bad, that he teleports over the crowd in the club accidentally." Even I think that's stupid. I'll take that bet. I tell her so, and Gregor does the same, siding with me.

More bets are placed over the next few days, ranging from putting hair dye in shampoo/conditioner bottles, to guns jamming, to bad hair days. Just as we're determining the bets for the day, we all get called in to Faultline's office.

However, it is not the entire team...just Gregor, Emily, and me. We enter her office and she looks at each of us in turn before speaking up "I've noticed that each of your accounts have had a lot of money move around lately between each other."

She lets this sink in before continuing, only increasing my anxiety "If there is any tension or problems among you three, I'd like you to tell me now." Wait. She thinks we're having problems? Emily giggles. "We're not having problems Faultline. We're betting."

Faultline's eyebrows arch in interest "Oh? On what?" I grin "Anubis and Shamrock have been pranking each other all week, we've been betting on what they'll do to each other and who wins the prank war each day."

Faultline hums, thinking for a moment before grinning. "I'm in." "Huh?" we all ask in unison. None of us expected our boss to say that. Her grin gets bigger "I said, I'm in. Fill me in on the open bets."

We all start listing off the bets we've made today and she looks at Emily and I in disappointment. "Why would you take those bets?" I shrug "It's interesting and those two are pretty creative with their pranks."

She sighs "I'm in and siding with Gregor. There is no way Shamrock is going to dye Buck green." I grin "Sure. You say that now." Faultline pulls out a notebook and scribbles down the bets, listing them off as she goes.

She records the date and time the bets were placed, the terms of the bets, who was on what side, and how much everyone bet. Once finished, she slides the book into a drawer, locking it shut. She looks at us.

"We'll meet here at the end of every day to check the bets and determine winners. No one can get to the book so no one can change what the bets are. Agreed?" We all nod. I'll be honest, I wasn't expecting Faultline to join in. Things are getting good.

Anubis and Shamrock are showing no mercy. They aren't hurting each other, but Anubis did manage to to actually dye Shamrock's hair green. Yesterday, she downloaded something onto his computer...but Anubis refused to let anyone know what it was.

Our only hint? His death stare at Shamrock as he growled "You will pay for this Shamrock." before he stormed out of the room. This morning, we meet in Faultline's office, as usual, to determine today's bets.

Just as we're wrapping up, Elle strides in "$200 says Anubis gives Shamrock a full day without luck." How can I say no to a bet like that? I grin at her "You're on Elle." I'm not the only one in on it. Emily and Gregor side with me, while Faultline sides with Elle.

Anubis returns from walking Buck and feeds him. Then he slips on his visor and sits down in the kitchen for breakfast. He never turns his head. Not once. Suddenly, I hear someone yell "$&@%" from another room.

I turn, ready to go help, but Anubis just chuckles. I can't see his eyes past his visor, but I can see his mouth. The shit-eating smirk he's sporting tells the whole story. Shamrock charging in and glaring at him only adds fuel to the fire. What did he do?!

The suspense is killing me as I wait for one of them to reveal what it is that Anubis has done so early in the morning. They stare at each other for what feels like hours, though it was probably closer to a minute, before Shamrock speaks. "You motherfucking bastard." Anubis chides her.

"Watch your language young lady." He's still grinning, but we all know that Anubis has adopted the role of father-figure in this family, with Gregor and Faultline being younger siblings to him and the rest of us as his kids. Before Anubis joined, our 'family' was disorganized.

Elle was still my baby sister and Emily was my annoying sister. Gregor and Faultline's roles in our family were harder to pin down. Faultline was out of the structure. As our boss, she had to be. That didn't stop Emily and I from railing against her as the only true authority figure we had.

We couldn't rebel against her like most teens can with their parents, but we kinda gave her a hard time about stuff. Gregor had his days when he was kinda like a much older brother...and days when he was more of an uncle.

Gregor was the oldest, largest, and most even-tempered member (except maybe Faultline) but he definitely wasn't a father figure. He never chided us, and he wasn't nurturing enough to fill that role.

Then Anubis joined. As a 43-year-old ex-soldier standing at 6'4" with a broad frame, Anubis easily took the spot as the oldest and tallest member of our team. What we hadn't expected...was his story.

Faultline didn't tell us all of it, but what she did tell us was sad. He first triggered while serving in Special Forces. Triggered again when his wife was killed by Behemoth. His 2-year-old daughter disappeared while he was unconscious in the hospital after Behemoth.

All evidence, or lack thereof, points to her being kidnapped. He's been looking for her ever since. He's been looking for 16 years. This guy is patient and dedicated. And he's turned all of those unused parental instincts onto us.

Now, we rail on him, we rebel against him, and he lectures us, but it doesn't disrupt our work like railing on Faultline used to. I can't help but grin. He may not be my actual dad, legally or biologically, but damn it I've got the coolest dad ever. Speaking of which, Shamrock looks ready to strangle him.

What did you do Jason? No. It feels too weird to use his first name...even in my head. It's just easier to call him dad or Anubis. He's still grinning as Shamrock glares daggers at him. She chuckles darkly "Oh. It is so ON old man!"

She storms out of the room and I see his head turn as she storms off. It stays at an odd angle. What is he doing? Then I remember when he explained his visor to Elle on her first lucid day (without his help).

His visor is Tinker tech with all sorts of gear built in. Including x-ray and thermal. He's using the visor to watch Shamrock through the walls. I watch as he stands, holding a cup of coffee and whistling for Buck to come.

He gets around the table and manages to open the kitchen door without ever taking his gaze away from the far wall, through which he could probably see Shamrock. This continues throughout the day, with Anubis moving any time Shamrock gets close to cutting off his line of sight.

Faultline had been ready to take the visor when Shamrock said he had to stop while she was in the shower. Anubis argued that he could do it with thermal vision and not see a thing. I don't know if this is true or not, but it seems Faultline was convinced enough to allow it.

I must admit, it was fun to watch Shamrock stub her toe, trip on things, and forget things in her room like the rest of us for once. I barely notice the time flying by until Faultline calls us into her office for our nightly bet meeting.

Sadly, Anubis had, indeed, robbed Shamrock of her luck for an entire day. So that means Elle and Faultline win today's bet. Damn. I thought for sure he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on her all day.

Elle is grinning as she gets her prize, skipping away when Anubis calls out to her that he's got popcorn. It's one of her favorite snacks. He's showing her a couple movies she's always wanted to see tonight. He's gonna keep her completely lucid the whole time so she doesn't miss a thing.

I go to join them a bit later to find her sitting on the couch with Buck in her lap. Dad is in one of the chairs, watching her. The amount of love and devotion in his eyes could have easily fooled anyone into thinking that he really is her father.

~Jason's P.O.V.~

I make my way through the ruined streets, cursing every so often at the cuts I get. Buck is enjoying the hike though, jumping and clawing his way through the debris. I grin "You having fun?" Buck gives me an affirming bark as his tail wags. We're on our way back home to the Palanquin from his walk.

Then, Buck sniffs the air a few times, going ahead and smelling some more before he whines. I look in the direction he's facing but I can't see anything on the road. When I look up, I see what's bothering him. There's a growing cloud of smoke filling the air.

What's worse? It's coming from the direction of home. I tense, pulling up my bandana and sliding my visor over my eyes. I let it sync up as I work my way over the rubble to the street. Once the path is clear, I break into a run as I yell at Buck "BUCK! HOME!"

He runs after me, and eventually in front of me. Whenever we come upon a rough patch of ground, I grab the scruff of his neck and teleport us past it. I've done it enough times with him that it barely even phases him these days.

When I eventually see our home, my heart drops into my stomach. The Palanquin itself is not on fire...but the street around it is. Buck begins to search for our family unprompted while I take in the scene.

There's a broken statue spilling water over the area. Buck barks twice. He found two of them. I run over and see that he's found Gregor and Faultline. Faultline is burned and both of them are unconscious.

I glance around and spot Newter's neon orange body laying nearby. That just leaves Spitfire, Shamrock, and Labyrinth. I look at the Palanquin for damage. Labyrinth and Spitfire's window is broken. I switch to x-ray vision. I can see two figures in the room.

One is crouching by the window. Labyrinth. The other is standing by the door. I can't tell how tall she is exactly from here without Labyrinth for reference. It might be Spitfire. That still leaves one child unaccounted for. I look at Buck. "Find Shamrock."

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End file.
